Me and Lucian and the Gun
by Vol lady
Summary: Set about a year after Nick and Hester Converse. Nick falls in love again, with a beautiful, intelligent businesswoman who has just come to Stockton – but what really is her interest in him?
1. Chapter 1

Me and Lucian and the Gun

1877

Chapter 1

If Nick Barkley had one magnificent fault, it was his unshakable belief that he could charm any beautiful woman who turned his head into believing that he was as desirable as a man could be. To his credit, his attempts to impress a woman were never insincere, never based on a desire to "love her and leave her." When Nick took the plunge, it wasn't with conquest on his mind. It was with a true desire to know the woman, to understand her, to treat her like a lady and to find out if she was the one he could spend his life with. Because for all his "he'll chase any pretty face" reputation, he was not a Lothario, or a cad. He was a gentleman, looking to fall genuinely in love with a gentlewoman.

His romantic efforts usually did not work out, though. The most dreadful relationship was the one he had fallen into with Hester Converse, who was completely wrong for him, who came between him and Heath. A horrible time that took Nick a long time to recover from. But recover he did, and he became Nick again.

Even his brothers, who never passed up a chance to razz him about his constant interest in the latest beautiful woman to hit town, knew that he was not just playing around. Nick just hadn't found that right woman yet, and he was not about to give up no matter how many women turned him down flat or broke his heart after at first looking promising. Both Jarrod and Heath knew that Nick was a true believer in himself, convinced that he could charm this next one into seeing what a catch he really was. To Nick, the next one could be the one, no matter how many times she turned out not to be the one. Nick would not give up his search until he found her, the woman he was meant to be with. He'd search until he was old and gray if he had to.

His brothers were with him on the street in Stockton when he spotted "the next one," a beautiful woman, not a girl, coming out of the bank that he, Jarrod and Heath were about to go into. She was tall, blonde, trim in the waist and dressed in a lovely light blue gown that said she was a woman of taste, and means. She was alone. To Nick, that signaled it was time to say hello, and the fact that she had just dropped a piece of paper was all the incentive he needed.

"Excuse me just a moment, boys," he said to his brothers and followed the woman as she walked away from the bank.

Jarrod and Heath stood by the front of the bank, grinning. "What do you think?" Jarrod said. "A 'thank you' when he gives her what she dropped and then she walks away?"

Nick was scooping up the dropped paper as Heath said, "I'm not betting with you anymore, not about Nick and his women. You get it right too often."

They stayed to watch as Nick caught up to her, taking his hat off, saying, "Excuse me."

She stopped and turned.

Nick held out the piece of paper. "You just dropped this," he said and bowed slightly.

"Oh, thank you," she said, but she didn't turn to go. "Mr. - ?"

"Barkley," Nick said. "Nick Barkley."

"You're that rancher from just outside town here," she said.

"I am," Nick said. "And you're new in town. I know I haven't seen you before."

She offered her hand, and as Nick took it she said, "I'm Ellen Penn."

"I'm pleased to meet you," Nick said. Then he tried to figure out if she was married, without actually asking. "Have you come here to be with family?"

"No, actually, I came because I'm buying an interest in that bank." She pointed to the bank, where Jarrod and Heath still stood waiting.

Now Nick was impressed. "A bank? That's quite an investment."

Ellen Penn said, "I come from Chicago. My late husband left me a sizable interest in a bank there, and I sold it and decided to look into reinvesting here in the west. San Francisco is a bit too rich for my blood, but Stockton is worth looking into."

Her late husband. Nick said, "I'm sorry you lost your husband, but I'm glad you've found your way to Stockton. Consider me your guide when you need one."

She smiled, a lovely smile. "Thank you, Mr. Barkley. I just might do that."

"You should have taken me on," Jarrod said to Heath as Nick put his hat back on and returned to them, while Ellen Penn kept on going down the street. "It looks like you'd have won the bet this time."

Nick rejoined them with a very pleased look on his face. "Ellen Penn," he said. "A widow from Chicago, a widow who inherited an interest in a bank in Chicago and is looking to invest in this one."

"Wow, that's a lot of information for one little conversation," Heath said.

"She knew my name," Nick said. "She knew I own a ranch."

"So, you quickly found out you have money in common," Jarrod said.

"What I found out is that she is a gracious lady of independent means," Nick said.

"Just your type," Heath said.

Nick chuckled wickedly. "Just eat your hearts out, boys, and move faster next time."

As they went into the bank together, Jarrod brought up the rear, and gave a look down the street to where Ellen Penn was still walking away. But then she looked over her shoulder, back toward him, then away again as she kept on going.

_What was that about?_ Jarrod wondered. Maybe it was nothing. Maybe she was just looking back Nick's way. Maybe he was just being overprotective of his younger brother again. But something about the woman and the way she just looked at him struck Jarrod in the curiosity bone and for a moment he wondered, _Do I know her?_

XXXXXXX

Nick's disastrous engagement to Hester Converse had affected Jarrod and Heath in different ways. It had happened when Heath was still new to the family, and getting too close to Hester – even though it was Hester's idea and not his - on that family camping trip had caused Nick's jealousy to explode. The resulting fight between the two new brothers ended up with Nick seriously injured and laid up for weeks with a damaged back, not to mention a broken engagement and a broken heart. Heath's approach these days was to stay as far away from Nick's potential love interests as he could.

Jarrod, on the other hand, had the opposite reaction. He had felt like he carried some kind of responsibility for Nick since the day Nick was born. It was a solemn duty Jarrod's four-year-old self took on as his first "big boy" job, and even if reality, as he had grown older, caused him to let go of some of that sense of duty, he still carried a residual "look out for Nick" philosophy, deep inside him. He hadn't gone on that family camping trip, being too busy with his legal work, but he had seen the seriousness of the effects of that outing when everyone got home. Jarrod's reaction was to pay more attention to the women Nick began to pay attention to. Not right away, only when it started to look like it was getting serious, or as in this case with Ellen Penn, Jarrod felt a particular pang of "look out for Nick."

Still, this time, Jarrod did nothing with the pang, not yet, even if he couldn't shake the nagging feeling her backward glance to him on the street had given him. Not even that Saturday evening when Nick came down from his day in the field not dressed for a casual dinner with the family, but dressed to the nines in his best deep blue suit, good dress shirt, and carefully shined dress boots.

"Well, well," Jarrod said, coming through the front door from town as Nick reached the bottom of the stairs. "This doesn't look like a relaxing evening at home."

"Nope," Nick said, checking his tie in the mirror. "I am taking Ellen Penn to dinner."

Jarrod raised an eyebrow. "I didn't even know you had seen her again since we ran into her near the bank."

"I've talked to her twice," Nick said, "and yes, she is buying that share of the bank and looking for a home here in Stockton. She's still at the hotel for the moment. I plan to suggest to her tonight that she let me help her find a suitable place to live."

"That's very gallant of you," Jarrod said. "What else have you found out about the young lady?"

"Not a lot. She's not the Saturday night dance type of girl – more the 'take me to the best restaurant in town' type of woman. She came here from Chicago after her husband died and she made some money on the part ownership of a bank there he left her. She wanted to try San Francisco, but the big city was too expensive for her, so she came here."

Nick eyed his older brother. While he didn't always know about the things Jarrod had going on behind the scenes that concerned his, Nick's, welfare, he could tell now that Jarrod had a suspicious eye.

"What's bothering you about her?" Nick asked flat out.

"Nothing, nothing," Jarrod said, not ready yet to say he thought he might know her because he didn't know for sure that he did and he had not done any checking up on her yet. "She's very beautiful. It's just that none of us has even met her yet."

"Well, I intend to make a suggestion about that tonight, too," Nick said. "I've asked Mother if I might invite her to dinner come Friday night, so you can all get the chance to talk to her. BUT – no cross examination, Big Brother."

Jarrod raised his right hand, palm outward. "No cross examination, I promise."

"You do tend to get awful bossy sometimes, you know."

"I know, and I'm trying to reform," Jarrod said. "Your lady friends are your business."

"Just keep remembering that," Nick said and headed for the front door.

Jarrod really did try to remember it. So far, he had resisted the temptation to contact Pinkerton about her. He decided right now that he would stay out of Nick's way, at least until he had the chance to meet Ellen at dinner come Friday night. After that, he'd have to see what, if anything, he was going to do, and what, if anything, he was going to say to Nick about it.

_You are a sneaky lawyer rat, Barkley, and sometimes I think this family of yours ought to throw you out on your ear_, Jarrod said to himself. Then he shook his head and put the thought of Nick and Ellen away until he at least met her.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Nick loved uncorking a bottle of Champagne, but not in Stockton's finest restaurant. Sometimes that cork could get away from you and fly across the room. In a place like this, it was better to leave the uncorking to the expert, who did it expertly and poured. Sitting beside Ellen, his arm around her, Nick waited for her to lift her glass, and he lifted his. "What shall we drink to?" he asked.

"The start of a beautiful friendship?" she suggested.

Nick clinked glasses with her. "How about we also drink to the success of the Cattlemen Bank?"

Ellen chuckled a little. "It's doing just fine without us drinking to it, but I'm sure it couldn't hurt."

They drank, then put their glasses down, and Nick took Ellen's hand. "So, are you ready to find a new place to live yet?"

"No, not quite yet," Ellen said. "I'm in no hurry. The hotel will be fine for a while."

"A hotel makes it a little hard for a friend to visit," Nick said.

Ellen smiled at him. "But it works when a woman is not quite ready for entertaining."

Nick laughed a bit, then said, "Well, I hope you'll consider visiting out at the ranch soon. I have four chaperones living with me, and they would love to meet you. How about dinner Friday night? I can pick you up at about five. We get together for drinks and conversation about six, have dinner about seven. We have the best cook west of the Mississippi."

"A tempting offer, but do you mind if I wait a bit before accepting?" Ellen said. "I have some business opportunities that need my attention, and I may need to go to Modesto for a couple days next week."

"All right," Nick said. "Is it any kind of business I can help you with?"

"No, I can handle it," Ellen said. "My husband involved me in all our business affairs. He was not a typical husband, all boss of the household and the little wife stays at home and keeps the servants in line. I know what I'm doing in the business world."

"Obviously. You bought into a bank."

"I imagine you're a pretty fair businessman yourself."

"I am. My brother Jarrod handles most of the non-ranch activity, but I handle it when he's busy with his legal practice. He has offices both here and in San Francisco, so he's often away for long spells and I have to take up the slack."

"It must be handy having a lawyer in the family."

"It saves a lot in legal fees," Nick said. He took her hand, and kissed it.

They chatted a little bit idly before dinner came. Nick had ordered veal for both of them, Ellen approving heartily, and they enjoyed their food and the rest of the champagne. After dessert, Nick escort Ellen back to her hotel – the long, slow way.

"It's a beautiful night," Nick said, looking up at what stars he could see through the streetlights.

"Very unlike Chicago," Ellen said. "There are far too many streetlights and carriage lights to see the stars in Chicago, and this time of year it tends to get windy, so no one stays outside very long anyway."

"Are you Chicago born and raised?" Nick asked.

"Uh-huh," she said. "This isn't the first time I've been out of there, but this is the first time I've considered moving elsewhere."

"If you haven't figured it out already, Stockton is no Chicago."

"Well, there are similarities. Both big cattle towns. The banking industry is closely connected to the cattle industry."

"I hadn't thought about that," Nick said.

"You've got one of the largest herds around, I hear."

"My family's been big in cattle since California was part of Mexico. My parents came here before the Mexican War."

"That war must have been disruptive."

"I wasn't born yet, and they never talked about it, but it couldn't have upset things much. They went on to build a good-sized operation that I took over after my father was killed."

"I heard about that – fights with the railroad."

"The railroad gets grabby," Nick said. "Things are quiet now, for a while, anyway."

They walked quietly for a while, then talked some more, but before long they were at Ellen's hotel and it was time to say good night. Standing outside, out of the brightest of the light, Nick leaned in for a kiss – and he got it. Soft, sweet, it made him tingle. He liked to tingle.

"You know," Ellen said, "I would like to accept that invitation to your house for dinner on Friday night. I can put off my trip to Modesto if there's any conflict."

Nick smiled, his dimples showing even in the soft light. "I will call for you at five, then. Maybe we'll run into each other before that, who knows?"

"Who knows?" she said.

XXXXXXX

Jarrod and Heath were heavy into a game of cribbage, a game they were only halfway through when Nick came into the house. They both looked up, but did not get up.

"How was dinner?" Heath asked.

"Exquisite," Nick said happily.

Heath and Jarrod exchanged raised eyebrows. 'Exquisite' was not a word either of them ever associated with Nick. "Quite the dinner companion, was she?" Jarrod asked.

"She was lovely," Nick said. "Have Mother and Audra gone to bed?"

"About half an hour ago," Jarrod said. "Did you invite Mrs. Penn for dinner Friday night?"

"I did, and she accepted," Nick said.

"Well, it'll be good to finally meet her," Heath said.

"Where did she say she was from, Nick?" Jarrod asked.

"Chicago," Nick said. "Why?"

Jarrod shrugged. "No real reason. She looks like someone I saw in San Francisco once."

Nick thought about it for a moment. "I don't think she's ever been there," but she had said San Francisco was too rich for her, so maybe she had been there. Nick hadn't asked.

"I'm probably just confusing her with someone else," Jarrod said. "I'm sure I'll figure it out once I meet her and get to know her."

"No cross-examination," Nick said, pointing directly at his lawyer brother.

"I already promised, Nick," Jarrod said. "No cross examination."

"Just remember that," Nick said, and he turned and headed upstairs.

Now it was Heath looking at Jarrod. "Do you really think you saw her in San Francisco?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "If I did, it was just in passing. I don't think I ever met her."

"Boy, howdy, I hope not," Heath said. "Nick's love affairs get complicated enough as it is."

"Don't they though?" Jarrod said. "And you haven't even been here for most of them."

"Don't tell me about them," Heath said. "After Hester, I really don't think I want to know."

"You're right," Jarrod said. "You don't."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

No one knew what to expect when Nick brought Ellen Penn in through the front door that Friday evening. What was she like? Was she shy or bold? Friendly or reserved? Happy to be here or nervous?

Nick introduced his mother first, and when Victoria reached for Ellen's hand, Ellen responded with a smile and a confident handshake. "Mrs. Barkley, I'm glad to finally meet you."

Victoria led her in as Nick closed the door, saying, "This my sister Audra, and these are my brothers, Jarrod and Heath."

Confident handshakes all around, and Victoria led the young woman into the living room, saying, "Nick has told us a lot about you. I'm so glad you could join us this evening."

Jarrod jumped right in as Victoria led Ellen to the settee. "I'm surprised you and I haven't crossed paths in town yet. You have the business community buzzing with your investment in the bank."

"Well," Ellen said, "I'm afraid the business community in Stockton is still a men's club." She leveled a smile at Jarrod. "It might take a little while for the local leaders to get used to a woman owning part of a bank."

There was no hint of recognition in her eyes when she looked at Jarrod, but he still felt that tickle of _I've seen her before_ in the back of his mind. He decided he was going to let it stew for a while and see if being around her all evening brought it into a clearer picture. "You're right, though you'd think the local businessmen would be more used to a woman of means, having my mother around all these years."

"Oh, Jarrod," Victoria sighed. "Remind me to have a talk with you about being a woman in the business community." She looked at Ellen. "Men sometimes don't see everything there is to see."

Nick had wandered to the refreshment table. "Ellen, can I offer you a drink, or maybe some wine?"

"Do you have scotch?" Ellen asked.

Nick grinned a little. "Brother Jarrod keeps only the finest around."

"A small glass," Ellen said. "Then some wine with dinner. I don't indulge all that much."

"Nick tells me you'll be looking for a home in Stockton," Audra said.

"Soon," Ellen said as Nick delivered her drink to her. "I have a trip or two out of town scheduled, but when I finish with those, I plan to go looking for something more permanent than the hotel."

"Do you have any family?" Victoria asked.

"Not since my husband died," Ellen said. "A cousin or two in Chicago, but my parents are gone, and I lost my only brother in the war."

Jarrod made a snap decision on something, both professional and personal. "Do you have a lawyer in town?" he asked. "I understand that you used San Francisco lawyers on the bank purchase, but perhaps you should consider a local lawyer if you don't have one, and I also have an office in San Francisco."

"I have been thinking about that," Ellen said. "I need to travel to Modesto, and if my trip is successful, I'm going to need a little legal help finalizing the agreements when I get back. And I'm hoping to do some business in San Francisco eventually too. I'll talk to you more next week, if you'll be in town."

"I will," Jarrod said. "I don't go back to San Francisco for several weeks."

"Enough business," Nick said, and Audra assisted by starting a conversation about the local charities she was involved with.

Jarrod listened around the edges. He was pleased he'd be getting a new client, and even more pleased that it would be getting him closer to this Ellen Penn. Then he noticed he was getting a look from Nick – that competitive look Nick saved for when he felt like one of his brothers was horning in on his interest in a woman. Jarrod tried for a calming smile, but it was much later, after dinner while Victoria and Audra showed Ellen around the mansion and the men were sharing brandy in the library that Jarrod opened right up.

"Relax, Nick," he said. "I'm not interested in Ellen except as a potential client. A lawyer has to spend a lot of time hustling for business as well as practicing law."

"She's way out of my league, too," Heath said. "I'm not looking toward a businesswoman for my company."

Nick eased a bit. "What do you think of her?" he asked.

Jarrod nodded. "She's a very sharp, very beautiful woman. I'll be able to give you a better opinion once I get to know her, but right now, frankly – I think she's worth your attention."

"As long as you're not intimidated by a woman who can stand toe to toe with you," Heath put in.

Nick looked awkward for a moment. "I have to admit, I've always put beauty ahead of brains when getting interested in a woman, but Ellen – " He smiled. "She's just something."

Jarrod gave a little smile. "Do you know who she reminds me of?"

"Who?"

"Mother."

Nick jerked straight. "Mother?"

"When she was younger," Jarrod said. "Maybe you were too young to notice it much, but when I was nine or ten, Mother and Father were just beginning to get into a lot of the businesses we're still involved in. Mother didn't do the legwork – " Jarrod looked at Heath. "I couldn't take care of Nick all by myself."

Heath chortled.

Jarrod went on. "But Father was always consulting Mother on his plans, and sometimes she was coming up with ideas of her own. The first large scale orchards we purchased from neighboring farms – we did that because Mother thought it was a good thing to get into, and the orchardist beside us was Mexican. It wasn't that long after California became part of the United States, and our neighbor was a Mexican and wanted to stay one, so he wanted to sell out and move down to Mexico. It was Mother's idea to buy him out, that older pear orchard land we have."

"That does sound a lot like what Ellen described about her and her husband's relationship," Heath said.

Jarrod gave a smile to Nick. "And you know what they say. Men tend to marry women who remind them of their mothers."

"They say that, do they?" Nick said. "Well, I can't say I'm ready to pop the question or anything."

Hester Converse was still too fresh a memory. Jarrod and Heath both realized they had touched that nerve in Nick without wanting to.

"Nobody's suggesting you do," Jarrod said. "I'm just saying Ellen seems worth your interest."

But he left unsaid his own still itching feelings about Ellen. Spending the evening with her hadn't told him whether he'd ever seen her before or not, but that sense that he had was dancing closer now than it had been, and it was focusing on San Francisco. If he had seen her before, it had to have been there. But he still wasn't ready to talk about it with anyone beyond the little he'd already said to Nick and Heath the other night. It still wasn't solid enough in his memory to talk about.

XXXXXXXX

"So, how do you like my family?" Nick asked as he drove Ellen back to the hotel that evening.

"A lovely family," Ellen said. "I'm envious."

Nick understood. It was tough to be a woman alone, even if you were a woman of means.

"What did they think of me?" Ellen abruptly asked.

"They like you," Nick said. "They're not used to me bringing home a woman with both beauty and brains. And Jarrod's pretty happy you're considering being a client of his."

"Everyone in town recommends him," Ellen said. "I'll go see him when I get back from Modesto and see if I like how he handles the business I bring back from there."

"I suspect you'll work well together," Nick said. "When do you leave for Modesto?"

"Monday morning. I should only be gone for three or four days."

"I'll miss you," Nick said.

Ellen gave him a soft smile. "I'll miss you, too. You know, I didn't come to Stockton thinking I'd find anything other than a good business opportunity. I'm glad I found you, too."

Nick leaned over and stole a kiss, then went back to driving. "When you get back, I'd like to show you around the whole ranch, in the daylight. See how you like it."

"Ranching is not something I'm familiar with, being a city girl," Ellen said, "but I'll look forward to it. Will I need to ride a horse?"

Nick laughed. "I'll find you a nice, gentle one, and I'll give you a lesson or two in riding. It's not hard."

"I suppose I'd better buy some riding clothes, too – if I'm going to be a rancher for the day."

"Talk to Mrs. Tolan at the dress shop near the hotel. She'll fix you up."

"Riding clothes at a dress shop?"

Nick shook his head. "This isn't Chicago."

When they pulled up to the hotel, Nick helped Ellen out of the buggy, and for a moment they stood there in the shadows. Nick wanted a kiss, but he didn't want everyone in the hotel to see it. He gave her a soft, light kiss on the lips.

"I hope you had a nice evening," Nick said.

"I did," Ellen said. "I enjoyed the kiss, too."

Nick leaned over for another one – longer, deeper.

Ellen seemed to enjoy that one, too, but she pulled back before it went too far. "I need to say good night, Nick."

"May I see you tomorrow?" Nick asked.

"I'm afraid I have a couple of business meetings tomorrow, but perhaps you can come by here on Sunday afternoon and we can enjoy a late lunch together."

"I'd like that," Nick said.

He walked her into the hotel, where she gave him a light kiss on the cheek and said, "Til Sunday then," before she let go of his hand and went upstairs.

Nick watched her go – then he saw Victor, the desk clerk, watching him watch her go, smiling. "Good night, Victor," Nick said with a smile, and left to go home.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Mr. Barkley," Jarrod's secretary poked her head into the private office and said, "a Mrs. Penn is here and hopes you can see her."

Ellen had been in Modesto all week, and given their last conversation, Jarrod figured she was about to ask for help wrapping up her business there. "Send her in," he said, and stood up behind his desk.

Ellen came in, looking stunning in that same blue dress she'd been wearing the day Jarrod and his brothers first saw her, but now she was carrying a portfolio. "Jarrod – " she said.

Jarrod extended a hand. "It's good to see you, Ellen," he said as she took his hand and he invited her to sit down. As he sat, too, he said, "I trust your business in Modesto went well."

"Very well," she said. "I have several documents here I'd like you to look over before I put my name to them." She passed the portfolio over to him.

"More banking investments?" Jarrod asked.

"No," she said. "These are all for real property just outside Modesto."

Jarrod raised an eyebrow. "You're not planning to move there, are you?"

"No, no, this is all business property," she said. "I have partners who own agricultural storage facilities down there. They need an infusion of capital, and they're selling me a partial interest in their businesses and real property."

"Have you had a business expert advise you on whether this is a good investment or not?"

"Yes. Someone in Modesto. I just need to make sure the facilities documents and the partnership agreements are up to snuff."

Jarrod said, "I can look at them and have my thoughts for you tomorrow, if that's convenient."

"That would be wonderful." She stood up. "Please forgive me, I have someone here in town I need to see, so I have to run. Give my best to Nick, will you?"

Jarrod stood up and offered his hand again. "I will. He'll be glad you're back."

"I'm glad too. I'll talk to you tomorrow."

And that fast she was off and out the door. Jarrod sat back down, opened the portfolio and took out the paper – a lot of paper. He gave a quick look at the top document and saw it was a partnership agreement. He knew a lot of businesspeople in Modesto, but the name on the agreement – Robert Chambers - was not familiar to him.

He turned and looked out of the window. He saw Ellen cross the street and head down in the direction of the railroad station. He really had no idea where she was going or why, and he was disappointed that she ran off so quickly. He was disappointed she hadn't asked how Nick was – just _give my best to Nick, will you?_

He shook it off. Maybe he was just being overconcerned with his younger brother and his love woes again. Ellen was no ordinary woman. She was a woman of business and there was a reason that word started with "busy." Having a business client dash in and dash out was nothing new.

XXXXXX

"_When you get back, I'd like to show you around the whole ranch, in the daylight. See how you like it."_

It was more than a week before Nick got to do that. They had gotten together in town twice for dinner since Ellen returned from Modesto, but that was all she seemed to have time for. Nick was actually beginning to feel a little rushed, but Ellen didn't seem to be cooling toward him. She did seem to be distracted.

"I'm sorry," she said after the second dinner. "Jarrod recommended some changes to a couple agreements I had him look over, and I've been back in negotiations on them but we've had to do it over the telegraph, and that's been so slow."

"Well, Jarrod wouldn't steer you wrong," Nick told her. "If he thinks the changes are a good idea, they're a good idea."

"Oh, I know, I agree completely," Ellen said. "It's just the slowness of doing this over the wire instead of in person. I'm pretty sure I can wrap it all up by tomorrow and mail the documents back, though. Maybe we can have that visit to the ranch this Saturday?"

Nick brightened. On Saturday morning he went into town to get Ellen to bring her out. She was in brand new riding clothes that showed off her figure even better than the fine dresses she wore, and she looked awfully cute wearing a Stetson. Nick had to smile and give her a quick kiss, right out in the daylight.

"Are you sure I'll be all right riding a horse?" she asked right away.

"I've picked out the gentlest one we have, the one I have the little kids ride," Nick said.

"It's not too small, is it?" Ellen was as tall as Audra was.

"No, her name is Sally, and she'll be fine. It won't take but a few minutes to get you used to each other."

When they got back to the ranch, Jarrod was on his way out. "Well, well," he said. "You finally managed to come for the grand tour."

Ellen smiled. "I'm a little nervous."

"Don't worry, Nick will look after you," Jarrod said.

"Where are you off to?" Nick asked.

"I have to go into the office. There are some things I didn't finish up yesterday, and I'll probably be gone all day. I might not be back for dinner. Have you heard back from Modesto yet, Ellen?"

"Yes, they've finally accepted the changes you recommended and I should have revised documents early next week," Ellen said. "I'll bring them by."

"Fine," Jarrod said, and added, "have a nice tour," as he rode away.

"All right, then," Nick said. "Let's introduce you to Sally."

XXXXX

The only part of the lesson that Ellen seemed a bit nervous with was when Nick tried her off on an easy gallop. At first it looked like she had to think about too much – how to hold the reins, when to dig in with your knees, when to pull back and when to kick. Nick wasn't about to have her tear off at a full clip, and unfortunately, at a slower gallop the rider tended to bounce up and down more. But after a while, Ellen got the hang of things and said, "Let's give this a try."

For someone moving from cattle town Chicago to cattle town Stockton, Ellen didn't seem to know a lot about cattle. She looked nervous about coming down off the north ridge to approach the herd, so Nick didn't make her do it. He just pointed things out like the chuck wagon and explained some of the maneuvers the men were doing to keep the herd together. When it looked like Ellen was starting to get bored, Nick took her to the nearest orchard, the old one the family had bought from the Mexican neighbor years ago. New trees had been planted regularly since then, and right now the fruit was developing. The pears were still very small and remnants of the blossoms were dried on the ground.

"Who will ship your crop?" Ellen asked.

"We usually use Coastal Western freight."

"Aren't they related to the railroad you've been fighting with in the past?"

Nick sighed. "Yes, but it's one of the hard truths of business in what's still a relatively small city. It's the only freight company that will ship our crop to market, so we have to use them."

Ellen shook her head.

Nick envisioned an investment in a freight line in her future. "We've though about getting into the freight business ourselves – my mother was in the business before she married, and that's actually how she met my father."

Ellen looked carefully at him. "If we had talked about this before I went to Modesto, I might have had the money to talk about an investment in a new freight line with you."

"Well," Nick said, "there's always next year."

Ellen smiled a little. "Do you raise horses too?"

"Let's go have a look at the herd," Nick said.

The herd of horses was not that far away, but it was small right now. Nick had sold some horses to the army a month ago and the new foals were still pretty small. Ellen smiled, watching the little ones chase each other and kick up their heels. Nick enjoyed watching Ellen.

"We've got a picnic lunch Silas made for us," Nick said. "Not three miles away is my favorite picnic spot. Are you ready to stop for lunch?"

"That sounds delicious," Ellen said.

They rode to a little green clearing by a waterfall, where there were rocks to sit on and rushing water to listen to. Nick helped Ellen to dismount – and suddenly she realized how hard it was to stand straight and strong after being in the saddle all morning. She fell right into Nick's arms when she hit the ground.

Nick laughed, and Ellen laughed. "I'm sorry," she said. "I can't seem to get my legs to move right."

Nick put his arm around her and helped her to his favorite rock. By that time, she was beginning to loosen up. "You wait right here while I tether the horses and get our picnic together."

The sky was blue and the sun was very bright. There was a tree that cast a nice shade, and Nick laid out the tablecloth he'd brought, and the food and the wine. Ellen watched. Nick enjoyed her watching. When he was ready, he went to her and offered his hand. She took it and stood up.

"This widow woman hasn't been treated this nicely in a very long time," she said.

"This old bachelor hasn't been able to treat a lady this nicely in a very long time," Nick said.

He leaned down and kissed her, long and luxurious. He felt as happy right this moment as he had felt in years.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Nick brought Ellen back to town after dinner at the ranch, and he reluctantly left her at the hotel. He'd had such a great day that he didn't want it to end. "When can I see you again?" he asked the moment he helped her down out of the buggy.

Ellen laughed a little. "I don't know, Nick, I have to check my appointments, but you will see me again. I promise."

They shared a kiss. Nick walked Ellen into the hotel, where she gave him a peck on the cheek and headed up to her room. Nick went back outside and climbed into the buggy with a silly grin on his face, and a lot of delight in his heart.

On the way out of town he gave a glance up to the window of Jarrod's office and saw the light still lit. Jarrod was working long today. Nick considered going up to see if he was ready to head home, but then he saw him moving toward his desk from somewhere else and sitting down with papers in front of him. He was fine and would probably prefer to be left alone, so Nick headed home.

Jarrod was fine, just working so hard he was losing track of time. It was another hour before he checked his watch and noticed it was close to ten-thirty. Time to give it up and get out of here, he decided. He put on his gunbelt and hat and went downstairs and out the door.

His horse was at the livery and he headed up in that direction, but as he neared the hotel, he stopped, and he stepped into a shadow so as not to be seen by the person he was seeing. It was Ellen, he could see clearly by the light of the hotel, and Jarrod could see the man she was with. It wasn't Nick. They made a flash of an impression on him, a flash of more of that feeling that he had seen her before because now he was seeing a man he thought he had seen before too. The man took Ellen's arm in a way that she appeared comfortable with, and the couple quickly moved off in the other direction, into the shadows. He wasn't sure where they were going, but they turned a corner and were gone.

He wouldn't follow. He'd seen what he needed to see, and what else the two of them were up to was none of his business. But as he frowned into the darkness and his memory sorted out the two faces he had just seen, everything fell together. He knew where he had seen the two of them before.

Jarrod had never actually met them. He had just seen them, in San Francisco, at a formal ball maybe a year ago. Dancing together at a formal ball. He remembered them for only one reason – Jarrod saw the man steal a kiss from Ellen right there on the dance floor. Soft but lingering, and a breach of polite San Francisco etiquette nonetheless. And one that Ellen had smiled at.

Jarrod didn't pay any more attention to them then and he was amazed he still remembered that episode now, but he did remember. That protective instinct inside him was coming up again. Ellen had spent the day with Nick, and now she was walking off with another man, a man Jarrod knew she had a history with. Jarrod didn't like this at all.

But he also didn't know exactly what to do about it. Telling Nick was not something he wanted to do, not with nothing more than just seeing them together on the street.

Since the couple was not at the hotel now, Jarrod took a chance and headed over there. At the front desk, he met a clerk he knew very well, a fellow he had once gotten to know a few years ago when the hotel was robbed. "Victor, good to see you," he said.

"You too, Mr. Barkley," the young man said. "What can I do for you?"

"I believe Ellen Penn is staying here. Do you know if she's in?"

"No, actually I just saw her leave." Victor leaned closer and spoke in a lower voice. "Look, I know your brother Nick has been seeing her and he brought her back here about an hour ago, but maybe you ought to know, she just left with another man. I'm not saying anything and I sure won't say anything to your brother."

Jarrod gave a frown and shook his head. "No, no, don't say anything to anybody, Victor. Do you know who this other man is?"

Victor hesitated.

"Is he staying here?" Jarrod asked.

"Not now," Victor said. "He was the night before last, but he's gone elsewhere now."

Jarrod was surprised he hadn't seen him before now. "Can you give me a name?"

Victor leaned closer and spoke lower. "Lucian Wilco. Funny name to me, so I remembered it – but you didn't hear it from me."

"Of course not," Jarrod said. Victor was actually on his list of informants in town and this wasn't the first time he had passed on information surreptitiously. "Do you know where he's from?"

"San Francisco," Victor said.

Jarrod slipped him a dollar. "Thanks, Victor."

Jarrod left quickly. The telegraph office was still lit up and open. It was time for him to do some looking into Ellen Penn, and Lucian Wilco. He wasn't going to say anything to anyone about what he had just seen before he knew more than he knew now, but he was a lot more concerned about Nick and Ellen than he'd been just that morning he saw them off on their tour of the ranch. A lot more.

XXXXXX

By the time Jarrod got home, no one was up, for which he was grateful. He really didn't want to run into anyone he was going to have to lie to tonight. Quietly, he got himself to bed, and in the morning he made sure he ran a little late. It was Sunday, everyone would be going to church, and if he rushed it, there wouldn't be much conversation he'd have to deal with.

Victoria and Audra traveled to church in the buggy, while the men went by horseback. Nick was bubbling over with conversation about his day with Ellen, so Jarrod held back and allowed Heath to take most of it in, something that turned out to be a little telling for Heath. After church, Jarrod intended to go back to the office, but Heath delayed him a little while Nick was mounting up.

"Getting your fill of the Nick and Ellen story?" Heath asked quietly.

Jarrod didn't know what to say to that. He tried an intentionally awkward smile. "Not exactly. I just have other things on my mind. And thanks for taking the brunt of the chatter on the way in."

"He's fallen in love with her, you know," Heath said.

"I know," Jarrod said.

And then Heath leveled a very blunt stare at his oldest brother. "If you're starting to get uneasy about it – if you're keeping something to yourself – maybe you better think about having a chat with Nick while none of the rest of us are around."

Jarrod shook his head. "There's nothing for me to talk about. Like I said, I just have other things on my mind."

Heath just nodded, mounted up, and left with the rest of the family to go home. Jarrod walked his horse to his office and went upstairs – where he sat down heavily and thought for a few minutes before he dove into the completely unrelated work he had to do. It would be at least tomorrow before Pinkerton got back to him on his request for information, maybe the day after. He wouldn't talk to anyone before then, even if Heath was already reading his uneasiness. Nick was so lovesick he might not see it, but if Heath saw it, it was a cinch Victoria did. Hiding his concern from her was going to be a lot harder than hiding it from Heath. Victoria had a lot of practice seeing right through him.

Jarrod decided he would be working late in the office tonight, too, even if it was a Sunday. He decided avoidance was his best strategy for tonight.

XXXXXXXX

"I think I'll go into town tomorrow," Nick said.

It was Monday evening, gathering before dinner. Everyone was together. Nick hadn't gone into to town today or seen Ellen since Saturday, and he was getting a little anxious to see her again. "Maybe you better send her a note first," Heath suggested. "Let her know you're coming."

"No, I'll just check to see if I can find her," Nick said. "I have supplies to pick up anyway. We need wire and nails before we can fix the fence near that arroyo we have trouble keeping the cattle out of."

Jarrod was home early. He listened, and he was concerned, but he didn't say anything. He hadn't heard from Pinkerton today, and he didn't want to say anything at all to anyone yet, especially not Nick, not until he knew more.

They avoided the subject of Ellen Penn all the rest of the evening. In the morning, Nick got up from breakfast, saying, "Want to ride into town together, Jarrod?"

"No, you go on, Nick," Jarrod said. "I have to square away one or two things here before I go into the office." It was a white lie. He didn't have anything he had to do here. He just didn't want to run the risk of Ellen coming up if they rode in together.

"All right," Nick said. "I'll see everyone later."

Heath got up and left to go to work in the field, too, and Audra said, "I need to check on those puppies in the barn and make sure they're all right this morning," as she got up.

As Audra left, Victoria said to Jarrod, "What things do you have to square away here before you go into town?"

"Just a couple old contracts I want to dig up out of my files here," Jarrod said. "Contracts for some of that orchard land we bought a couple years ago. I can use them as templates for a deal I'm working on in town." Another white lie.

"You've been busying yourself quite a bit the past few days," Victoria said.

"Work comes that way, feast and famine."

Then she became blunt. "What do you really think about Nick courting Ellen Penn?"

"I like her," Jarrod said.

"Nick's gone head over heels, you know."

"I kind of got that impression, listening to him talking to Heath about her on the way to church on Sunday," Jarrod said.

"And that bothers you," Victoria said.

Jarrod gave a little smile as he got up from the table. He came to her and kissed her. "It doesn't bother me enough that it should bother you, Mother, but if it does, I'll talk to Nick about it. How's that?"

He left before his mother could draw him any further into a conversation, but Victoria had read him better than Heath had, as Jarrod expected. Jarrod went to the library to dig out some old contracts, just to keep the façade up. As he did, he hoped like crazy he'd hear something from Pinkerton today.

All he heard from Pinkerton was a telegram he found when he finally got to the office. All it said was _Re: Inquiry – morning train Wednesday_ and it gave tomorrow's date.

Something was coming on the train. That meant there was more to send than a mere telegram or letter would hold. Jarrod grumbled.

As he did, he looked out the window. Nick's wagon was nowhere in sight, but Nick was, walking arm in arm with Ellen toward the café on the corner next to the Gaiety, looking happy together.

Jarrod grumbled some more.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"You know," Nick said as he sat down with Ellen at the café, "I missed you all weekend. After that wonderful visit to the ranch, I was hoping we'd have more time to get together, but I got busy, and I guess you got busy too."

Ellen nodded. "I did. I don't know what it is about being in business, but once you make one successful deal – like the bank purchase – everybody comes after you to make more."

"Do you have any others going right now?"

"A couple in the 'thinking about it' stage," Ellen said. "Nothing I've agreed to."

"Then maybe we can spend today together? We don't have to do anything special. You probably haven't had a lot of time to get to know Stockton. I can show you around, introduce you to people you might not have met, see places you might not have seen. We can cap it off with dinner at the Stockton House."

Ellen nodded. "That does sound nice. I need a day to relax and let go of thinking about business deals."

"Terrific!" Nick said. "By the way, the family was very impressed with you – though I think they might wonder what you see in me."

Now Ellen laughed. "Don't sell yourself short, Nick Barkley. You're a handsome man, cordial and good natured, and a man of means. You work hard and you play hard and you'd be a catch for any kind of woman."

"Even a businesswoman?"

"Even a businesswoman. But I should ask. How do you feel about formal balls?"

"Well, we don't have a lot of those around here."

"There's always San Francisco. I haven't spent a lot of time there, but I have been to a ball there once. It was very pleasant. I enjoy dressing to the nines and filling my dance card up. How do you feel about things like that – like formal wear and dancing?"

Nick grinned. "I do own formal wear, you know. We've been known to have formal parties out at the house now and then. And I do look dashing all dressed up, if I do say so myself."

Ellen laughed. "You certainly looked dashing that night you first took me to dinner, in that blue suit. Somehow it actually made your eyes look blue."

"I'm told they can change color a little, depending on what I'm wearing, but they don't often go blue."

"Well, they did that night."

Nick reached for Ellen's hand. "You know, or maybe you don't know and what I'm about to say is somewhat forward of me – but you are making me fall in love with you, Ellen Penn."

He looked into her eyes. At first, he was hopeful she would answer quickly that she was falling for him, too, but that answer didn't come. She smiled, but she let her gaze fall – and Nick's hopes fell.

"The thing about being a widow, Nick," Ellen finally said, "is that even though your husband is gone, he is still with you. We've only known each other for a week or two. It's going to take me longer than that to fall in love, because a big part of my heart is still with my husband. Not that I want to say I'll never fall in love with you. I'm very fond of you and I enjoy your company very much. I just move slowly now, after being happily married. It can be very tough to let go."

Nick hadn't thought that much about Ellen's late husband. He really had no idea how a woman might keep hold of the man she loved and married even after he was gone. It was not something he had experience with. "I'm sorry. I don't mean to be rushing you. I should be more sensitive."

"You will be now, I know," Ellen said. "And please don't think I don't want to be with you. I probably can't be as much as you would like me to, but I do really like you, Nick. I do really want to see where we go."

"That's good enough," Nick said and kissed her hand. "Let's plan a day of visiting and a nice dinner together, and take it slow."

She smiled even more broadly, and she nodded.

XXXXXXXXX

"Well, I was beginning to think you going into town for wire and nails was all a con job," Heath said when Nick finally pulled the wagon into the stable yard, after dark.

The stable hand met him, saying, "I'll take care of these things and the rig, Nick."

"Thanks," Nick said as he climbed down.

"Got a little distracted, did you, Nick?" Heath asked.

"A little," Nick admitted with a smile and he and his brother headed for the house.

"Jarrod came in about half an hour ago, beat you home for a change. He said he saw you in town with Ellen."

"Ellen and I spent the day visiting places and getting her introduced to people she hasn't had time to get to know, and then we had dinner and I took her back to the hotel."

"She still isn't starting that house search yet?"

"Not yet. I haven't pressed her on it."

Heath hesitated before asking, "Does she know you're courting her, or is she too wrapped up in the business world?"

"She's knows we're courting," Nick said with a grin as he stopped and opened the door, "and that's all I'm gonna say on the subject."

They went inside, finding Victoria and Audra on the settee doing some needlework, Jarrod at the desk back in the corner doing some paperwork, everyone looking as if they were winding the day down.

"Well," Victoria said as Nick came in and headed for the hat tree in the hallway to put his holster and hat away. When Nick came into the living room, she said, "it's a good thing Jarrod saw you with Ellen in town or we might have begun to worry about you."

"I got into a little impromptu courting," Nick said.

"Impromptu?" Audra said. "Ellen's cultured ways are rubbing off on your vocabulary, Nick."

"A man can always grow," Nick said. "We're having dinner together again tomorrow night. Jarrod, why is it you're always working? Can't you put it down for one evening?"

"Maybe we need to be finding an Ellen for Jarrod," Audra said.

Jarrod put his paperwork down and joined his brothers at the refreshment table for a bit of brandy. "My Ellen will come along when she comes along," he said.

"If you look up from the paperwork long enough to see her," Nick said.

"Are you planning to get married before Jarrod does, Nick?" Audra asked.

Nick gave an awkward smile, while Jarrod just turned away from looking at anyone and headed for his favorite armchair by the fireplace. "You never know what might happen," was all Nick said.

"Ellen is a lovely woman," Victoria said. She gave Nick a quiet smile.

Jarrod saw his mother's look, then he looked away again and sipped on his brandy. He thought about the information that would be coming from Pinkerton tomorrow, and it reflected in his face in a way that only Heath and Victoria noticed. Heath let it go. If Jarrod had misgivings about Ellen, he'd tell Nick when he was ready to.

Victoria didn't like what she was seeing in Jarrod's face either, but looking at the happiness on her middle son's eyes, she decided to let Nick handle his affair. Like Heath, she decided that if Jarrod had problems, the two of them would discuss it. She would follow her basic rule – stay out of their love lives – at least for now.

XXXXXX

Jarrod was at the train station early the next morning, to be there when the train from San Francisco pulled in. He wanted to grab what Pinkerton was sending before too many people got a look at who it was from. He was pretty jumpy about it, and when the train came and he picked up the package from Pinkerton, he definitely did not like how big it was.

He carried it back to his office quickly, told his secretary he'd be busy for a while, and closed himself into his inner office. He sat down at his desk with the package, and he looked at it for a moment before opening it up. Nick's future was in here, after all, and maybe Jarrod's future with his younger brother, too. If the information in here was bad, or even just ambiguous, Jarrod knew he was going to have to make some decisions about how to handle it with Nick, and he didn't like that prospect at all.

And he knew what was in here was going to be either bad or ambiguous, not good. He finally opened the package up, with a deep breath.

It contained two files. He read them carefully, once in the morning before lunch, then he walked a lot at after eating lunch, thinking about what he had read. He did his best thinking while walking, and while there were a lot of things in those files that bothered him, one thing made him want to get more information.

But he went to Sheriff Madden for that. He found him in his office, and he immediately said, "Fred, would you do something for me? I need some information from Modesto and I think the sheriff there is the best one to find it the fastest. Will you wire him and ask him about something?"

Sheriff Madden agreed, and Jarrod told him what he was trying to find out. It got a wary look from Sheriff Madden.

Jarrod just said, "I got some information from Pinkerton about Ellen Penn. I have to know more." Then he explained the rest.

The sheriff agreed to help, and Jarrod went back to his office and read through the files again. He read them slowly, deliberately, evaluating every sentence and every word. By the time his secretary poked her head in and said she was leaving for the day, it was four o'clock and Jarrod hadn't paid much attention to any of his other work. He knew he was going to have to put this aside and stay late to complete the other work he wanted to finish.

But it was hard to put this aside. There was too much there, too much to swallow – too much to even begin to plan how to tell Nick about it. Jarrod got up and walked around the room, finally muttering, "Damn!" to himself before looking out the window.

He saw Ellen Penn walking toward the hotel, alone. He almost considered going to talk to her, but then he remembered Nick was coming to take her to dinner and he didn't want to run the risk of him showing up while he was talking to Ellen. Jarrod began to plan. It was Nick he was going to have to talk to, at home tonight, because Nick needed to know what he knew after reading these files.

Jarrod put them on the corner of his desk, out of the way, and tried to concentrate on other work he had to do.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Nick came home from the field, took a good bath and dressed in that blue suit Ellen had liked. When he came downstairs, he checked his tie in the mirror and found Audra's reflection joining his.

"My, my," she said. "You do look handsome."

Nick smiled, turned and gave his dimples to her as he kissed her forehead. "I'm looking forward to a nice dinner with Ellen."

"I never would have guessed," Audra said.

Victoria joined them from the dining room area. "Do me a favor, would you Nick?"

"If I can," Nick said.

"After your dinner, after you take Ellen home, check and see if Jarrod is still in his office. He's been working too late too often, and I want you to bring him home with you even if he doesn't like it."

"I'll do that," Nick said, and kissed his mother, too. "But I really don't know how late that might be."

"Whenever it is," Victoria said. "If we're not careful, he's going to start spending the night in that office on a regular basis."

Victoria suspected Jarrod had something particular on his mind, and she suspected it had to do with Nick and Ellen. Nick said, "Don't worry, I'll tie him over his saddle if I have to."

For a moment, Nick considered not taking a gun along tonight. A gun usually did complicate the cut of this nice blue suit, but on the other hand, sometimes - especially at night - he regretted not being armed. Trouble seemed to come easier at night. Nick gave into his basic instinct and strapped on his gun.

Nick took the buggy into town, and soon he was going into the hotel. When they had a date, Ellen was usually waiting for him in the lobby. Propriety, Nick figured. He had never actually been up to Ellen's room, and he didn't want to push anything or give Stockton anything to get gossipy about. The most he would give them was the peck on the cheek he always greeted Ellen with.

"Ready?" Nick asked.

Ellen nodded.

"Is Cattlemen's all right?"

"Just fine."

They went out together and Nick helped Ellen into the buggy. Cattlemen's wasn't very far away, but Nick felt like delivering Ellen there in style tonight. She looked lovely in a peach colored gown. Nick wanted to show her off, getting in and out of the buggy. He wanted every man in Stockton to eat his heart out.

Soon, they were in Cattlemen's drinking a nice red wine and waiting for a boeuf bourgignon that Nick prided himself on pronouncing correctly. "You know," he said, "I'm afraid I have to take a short trip out of town next week, to Modesto on a cattle sale. Maybe when I get back we can spend more time together, talk about some things like – well, things."

"Modesto?" Ellen said.

"Yes," Nick said. "You don't need to be there again, do you?"

"No," she said. But she looked a bit uneased about it. She laughed a little. "I never did tell you how my business down there has gotten complicated again, despite Jarrod's best efforts on those contracts."

"I thought that was all settled," Nick said.

"So did I," Ellen said, "but it looks like we may have to do some more telegraphing each other to work things out."

"I'm sorry to hear that," Nick said. "Is there anything I can do while I'm down there? Anybody's arm I can twist?"

"No, no, don't you dare," Ellen said with a laugh. "I'll get Jarrod to handle it, if I can't clear it up in the next few days."

"Well, I hope it won't interfere with us getting together more often when I get back."

Nick took her hand, kissed it, rubbed the back of it gently with his thumb. Ellen said, "Nick – I do want to spend more time with you, but I don't want you to rush things. Remember, you said you wouldn't."

"And I won't," Nick said. "But I would like the pleasure of your company more often. Is that all right?"

"Yes," Ellen said, relaxing. "That's very all right."

They had a lovely dinner, and afterward they took a ride a little bit out into the country, into the moonlight. Nick parked, and they looked up at the sky together. The moon was getting full, and it was getting hard to see all but the brightest stars.

"My mother tells me I was born on a moonlit night," Nick said. "She used to say that was why I had such nice dimples when I smile and Jarrod didn't. He was born on a moonless night."

Ellen said, "You do have very nice dimples. But are you always comparing yourself to Jarrod?"

"No, not always," Nick said with a laugh, "but somehow when you're the little kid brother, you do tend to do that from the moment you realize you _are_ the little kid brother. Tell me about your brother."

"Oh," Ellen said, wistfully, "I wish I could, but the truth is he's been gone so long and I was so young when he went off to the war, that I just don't have that many memories. He was several years older than I. I do remember he had dimples too."

Nick laughed a little.

Ellen said, "He was kind and he would hold my hand when the family was walking somewhere. He died in a battle in Tennessee – not even a battle really, more like a skirmish. When we got word, my mother went absolutely wild with grief. My father got very quiet. We got him home and buried him."

Ellen grew very quiet. Nick said, "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to bring all that up."

Ellen shrugged. "Death is part of life. I've lost them all now – my parents, my brother, my husband."

Nick took her hand. "I know it's gotta hurt."

"It's not as sharp as it was," Ellen said. "I've coped."

"Very well, I'd say," Nick said. "Building your own business empire."

"Not really an empire," Ellen said. "I just want to pay the bills without having to work in a dress shop or some café."

"You like your freedom," Nick said.

"I prefer it," Ellen said.

They talked some more before Ellen asked to be taken home. It was nine-thirty, and Nick knew he had to be getting home, too. When he took her back to her hotel, he helped her out of the buggy and again said, "You do look beautiful tonight."

He gave her a long, lingering kiss, right there beside the buggy where there was a little shadow to give them some privacy. Then he escorted her to the lobby of the hotel, where she gave him her soft kiss on the cheek. Then she went up the stairs to her room.

Victor, the desk clerk, watched, and knew something Nick did not know, but didn't say anything. He just shook his head as Nick left.

Nick almost forgot his promise to check on Jarrod, but the light coming from that big window of his reminded Nick he was to check on his older brother, who was clearly still there. He had his back to the window and was hunched over his desk. Working too much again. Nick left the buggy parked outside Jarrod's building and went inside and up the stairs.

Jarrod was alone and looked up, startled, when Nick came in. "Nick! I didn't expect you."

"Mother asked me to haul you home if you were still here after I finished dinner with Ellen," Nick said, coming close to Jarrod's desk. "And I see you're still here, so pack it in, Pappy and – "

Nick stopped midsentence. He was looking at the files on the corner of Jarrod's desk. Jarrod saw that Nick could see the names on the files perfectly clearly – Ellen Palfinger Penn and Lucian Metzner Wilco. Ellen's file was on top.

Nick's face took on an ugly darkness. "What the hell is this?"


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

Nick reached for Ellen's file, but Jarrod quickly said, "Wait, Nick," and got up and put his hand on the file so Nick could not take it.

Nick looked up at him. "You explain yourself right now."

"I will," Jarrod said. "Sit down."

Nick shook his head. "Just talk."

Jarrod remained standing. "The first file is Ellen's. The second is on a man named Lucian Wilco. If you remember, I told you I thought I might have seen Ellen before but I didn't know where. I remembered where, the other night after you brought Ellen back here from your day at the ranch. I remembered because as I was leaving here Saturday night, I saw her with another man."

Nick's eyes flashed.

"I saw her with a man I also thought I had seen before," Jarrod continued. "I remembered where I had seen them, and I found out his name – Lucian Wilco. I saw them about a year ago in San Francisco, at a ball, dancing together. I remembered because he had kissed her on the dance floor – not something that gets done very often in San Francisco society – and she liked it. Once I remembered that, I had no choice, Nick, I had to find out about them."

"What did you find out?" Nick asked, a slow growl, looking at the name on Ellen's file and knowing what answer he was going to get but still not believing it.

"Please sit down," Jarrod said.

"Just tell me."

"Ellen is married to Lucian Wilco, Nick," Jarrod said.

Nick glared. "That's a lie."

"I wish it was, but if you open that file on Ellen, you'll see a copy of the marriage certificate."

Nick looked at the file, but he did not reach for it.

"Please, Nick, sit down," Jarrod said. "There's more."

Nick slowly sat down, finally, in the chair in front of Jarrod's desk. Jarrod sat back down in his chair behind the desk. Nick continued to stare at the file.

"Wilco is a builder in San Francisco," Jarrod said. "He has a long record in the business community, of welching on contracts, failing to pay contractors, suing and getting sued over business deals. He's done nothing illegal that Pinkerton could find, but he's not highly regarded and it looks like he's worn out his welcome over there. Ellen has been a partner with him in some of those deals that have gone bad. It looks like she might have come here to pave the way for them to move in over here, I don't know."

Nick finally looked up at Jarrod. "I don't believe that. Why would she get involved with me if she was already married? How could she think I wouldn't find out?"

"I don't know, Nick," Jarrod said. "Maybe I've read it all wrong and they're on the outs, and she's been sizing you up as a replacement."

Nick started to come up out of his chair.

Jarrod leaned forward, meeting aggression with assertion. "I'm sorry I put it so bluntly, and no, I don't have any real proof that that's what she's doing, but I saw them together Saturday night, Nick, and she didn't look uncomfortable with him. I don't know what's going on in their marriage, but they are married. There is no divorce decree on record."

Nick started to get up, this time to leave.

"Nick, stay put for a minute," Jarrod said.

Nick stood where he was, but did not sit down again. "I need to go talk to her."

"Give it a few minutes," Jarrod said. "Let yourself cool down. Say for a minute I'm right, and she's here because she wants out of this marriage and wants to be with you. You're gonna wreck those chances if you go over there in a fit of temper."

Nick could swallow that, but, "But you don't believe that's what she really wants."

"I don't know what to believe. I don't have enough evidence. But I can't believe she'd just play around with you like this. I don't know that for sure, either, but like you I just can't believe she'd lead you on just for her own enjoyment. That's not who she seems to be, and there's really nothing in that file to lead me to believe she would do that to you. There's this marriage and some shady deals."

But as he said that, Jarrod thought about Modesto, and what he didn't know, what the sheriff was looking into. Jarrod let that go for now. He didn't want to let Nick in on it until they heard more from Modesto. He didn't want to make any more accusations without proof that he didn't have.

Nick looked at the files again. "Why such big files, then?"

"Copies of documents concerning their business lawsuits and complaints," Jarrod said. "They are not what we'd call ethical, even if they aren't illegal in their activities. There are all kinds of complaints in there – and one complaint where she had Lucian arrested for hitting her, but she dropped that. It looks like there was some drinking involved and neither one of them could say they were remembering things right."

Nick sighed and slumped. It had finally gotten through his thick skull and into his head that Ellen was simply not who she presented herself to be. She really was married, to an unethical businessman, and she was at least somewhat of an unethical businesswoman and a drinker to boot. _Dear God, how could I have missed all that?_ Nick asked himself.

"I need to go talk to her," Nick said, more settled now.

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"No, that's the last thing I want. Jarrod, are you sure you can trust all this information from Pinkerton? Is there any chance they've just gotten it wrong?"

"There are photographs in there, Nick," Jarrod said. "Photos of the two of them, together and separately. A wedding photo, too."

Nick moaned and turned away. He didn't want to see any of those things. "Jarrod, I love her. I really love her."

"I know," Jarrod said, "and I'd have said something sooner except you do love her, and I didn't have any evidence to tell me what this Lucian Wilco was to her, until I got these this morning. I'm sorry for going behind your back, but if I was wrong, if there was nothing to be concerned about, I didn't even want to bring it up with you, ever. You're my brother. I don't want to hurt you like this. I'm sorry I'm hurting you like this."

Nick shook his head. "Why is it I seem to pick the women who are all wrong? What is it about me, I'm attracted to women who just – " He didn't even know how to finish the sentence.

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "Maybe you just haven't gotten the hang of reading them right. Maybe it's that your heart follows your eyes too much and your first attention is to how beautiful she is. But it's not always gonna be this way, Nick. There are plenty of wonderful women out there. Yours is out there. It might even be Ellen."

Nick got up, more slowly this time, shaking his head. "No. It's not Ellen, not since she didn't even have the decency to tell me she was already married. I can't go for that." He started to leave.

"Are you gonna go talk to her now?" Jarrod asked.

"What else can I do?" Nick said. "I can't just go home with this like nothing's happened. I gotta hear her side of this story, too."

"All right," Jarrod said, "but just keep your temper curbed."

"It's curbed," Nick said. "I just want to talk with her. I'll come back over here after I do, and we'll head on home together."

"All right," Jarrod said. "Nick, I'm sorry about all this."

"Don't be sorry you looked out for me," Nick said. "I don't know whatever would have become of me if you didn't do that all these years."

"You'd be fine," Jarrod said. "Maybe a little more beaten up, but fine."

"Yeah," Nick said, his downheartedness showing all too clearly, and he left.

Jarrod finally let his breath out when Nick closed the door behind him. He hadn't been looking forward to this conversation at all, and he sure didn't expect it to come popping into the door right now, but there it was. They'd had the talk. Jarrod had told his brother the important things in the files without getting into some of the ugly details about business deals gone wrong, and without getting into the unknown about Modesto. Nick knew what he needed to know, and he was calm, controlled, as he was going over to talk to Ellen. Jarrod was content that everything was as good as it was going to get right now, now that all this was out in the open, now that Nick knew the truth.

Jarrod was content for all of about five minutes. Then he heard the gunshot.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

By the time Jarrod got his gun strapped on and ran over to the hotel, Dr. Merar was already elbowing his way past the crowd at the door, yelling, "Let me through!" As the crowd parted, Jarrod pushed himself in behind the doctor.

The lobby was pandemonium. A deputy was trying to get people out while people outside were trying to get in or at least see in. Dr. Merar ran up the stairs – it was easy to see what room was involved, because a door was open and Victor, the desk clerk, was there. Inside, a woman was screaming. Jarrod ran up the stairs behind the doctor, and nobody blocked him.

Victor got out of the way for the doctor, then saw Jarrod and moved farther away. Jarrod knew what that meant. He went into the room, expecting disaster –

But not quite the disaster he saw. There was a man, shot, on the floor, but Jarrod saw right away that it was Lucian Wilco. Nick was there, standing with his gun in his hand but slumping, his hat on the floor, blood running through his hair and down the back of his neck. Sheriff Madden was trying to get him to sit down in a chair, holding a towel to the back of his head.

Jarrod got to his brother. "Nick, you're hurt, come on, sit down," he said and with the sheriff they finally got Nick to sit.

The sheriff then turned his attention to the screaming woman – Ellen. Henry and Cal, both deputies, came in, and the sheriff got Ellen to Henry, saying, "Get her over to the office. Keep her there."

Jarrod watched Henry hustle Ellen away while Cal went back out to try to keep people away from them, then he turned his attention back to his brother. But Nick was out of it, somehow unconscious and conscious at the same time. Fred Madden carefully took his gun away from him and checked it. One shot fired. The barrel was still warm.

Dr. Merar, down on the floor with Wilco, checked him with his stethoscope and said with a sigh, "He's dead."

Dr. Merar went straight to Nick then and checked his eyes and the wound on the back of his head. Nick still looked vacant, as if he didn't even know where he was.

The sheriff found a broken pitcher on the floor, just inside the door and off to the right. Water was everywhere, along with thin ribbons of blood mixed in. It looked like somebody had hit Nick with a full pitcher of water, hit him hard enough to do this to him. Had Ellen hit him? The sheriff looked around and realized there was more than one conclusion he could make about what he was seeing.

Sheriff Madden saw Victor at the door and asked, "Whose room is this, the man's or the woman's?"

"Mrs. Penn's," Victor said.

"Help me get him over to my office," Dr. Merar said about Nick.

"No, I don't think so," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod looked alarmed.

The sheriff looked directly at him and said gently, "There's a man dead in here from a gunshot wound and Nick was holding the gun. I need him at the jail. You can see him there, Doc."

Dr. Merar stood up. "All right."

Jarrod said, "Fred, you had Ellen taken over there."

"I know," Sheriff Madden said, "but I'll keep them separated while I talk to them."

"I'll be representing my brother," Jarrod said, seeing the charges coming. "I'll want to talk to him before you do."

Sheriff Madden nodded.

As the doctor, the sheriff and Jarrod got Nick to his shaky feet, Sheriff Madden said to Victor, "I want this door locked the minute we're out of here. Nobody touches this room. My deputy will be guarding it until I can get back over here. Give him the key."

Victor nodded, and he locked the door as Jarrod and the doctor got Nick uneasily down the stairs. The sheriff followed, carrying Dr. Merar's bag, and finding Cal, told him to guard the room upstairs. Nick still hadn't said a word, and part way down they had to stop because he started to vomit. Dr. Merar used the towel they had to the back of Nick's head to catch the vomit.

Hustling down the stairs around them, Victor hurried to the front desk and fetched them a clean towel. Once Nick was steady again, he traded towels with the doctor, and Jarrod and Dr. Merar got Nick moving again.

People were still everywhere and the sheriff had to get them out of the way as they took Nick to his office. Henry had Ellen in a chair. She wasn't screaming anymore, but she was crying and shaking.

Jarrod and the doctor were putting Nick in a jail cell before Nick finally said anything, and all he said was, "Wha - ?"

"Sit down, Nick, you're hurt," Dr. Merar said as Jarrod took Nick's holster off him. "Sheriff, I need some water and my bag."

Jarrod stepped back and out of the cell as the sheriff handed the doctor his bag. While the doctor checked Nick over, Jarrod nodded the sheriff toward the other, empty cell, where Jarrod handed over Nick's holster and asked about Nick's gun. "One shot fired," the sheriff said, speaking quietly so as not to be heard by anyone else. "The barrel was warm when I took it."

Jarrod sighed, nodding.

"Do you have any idea what went on up there?" the sheriff asked, exasperated.

Jarrod nodded. "A little. Nick's been seeing Ellen Penn for a while. But I saw Ellen with the dead man the other night, after Nick left her off at the hotel. I had been thinking I'd seen Ellen before, and when I saw her with this guy Lucian Wilco – "

"That's the dead man?"

Jarrod nodded. "I remembered seeing them together in San Francisco about a year ago, together as in 'together.' I sent to Pinkerton to get some information on both of them. It came on the morning train today. This Wilco was Ellen's husband."

"Nick didn't know that and he didn't know you were looking into them."

"Fred, I don't want to get into that before I talk to Nick."

"How many shots did you hear? Any?"

"Just one, but I was in my office."

"That's how many I heard, and how many the desk clerk heard."

Jarrod sighed, shaking his head, worried sick. "Fred, I had no idea anything like this was gonna happen."

Sheriff Madden nodded, went back into the office and locked Nick's gun and holster into his desk drawer. He fetched some water in a bowl and brought it back to the doctor in the cell where Nick was now sitting on the bunk, his head down. "Maybe we can figure out more once Nick gets his senses back," the sheriff said to Jarrod. "Do you want me to send somebody for your family?"

"You'd better," Jarrod said.

The sheriff then went out to get someone to run out to the Barkley ranch. He asked his deputy Henry to stay with Ellen for now. She was still crying and shaking in a chair. He didn't want her to go anywhere.

The doctor straightened up from his first look at Nick's injury. "Looks like a conk on the head with something hard, probably that water pitcher. The skin-split is small, it won't need stitches, but he's still as foggy brained as they come." The doctor put his bottle of astringent back into his bag and used the water to clean the blood from Nick's neck. Then he took a roll of bandage out of his bag. He began to bandage Nick's head, keeping a wad of bandage against the wound to keep the bleeding stopped.

"Nick, can you hear me?" Jarrod asked.

Nick was still slumped, frowning in pain, but he said, "Jarrod?"

Jarrod said, "Yeah, it's me. Do you know what happened?"

"No, I – I can't think – " Nick said.

_Just as well_, Jarrod decided. It was all right for the doctor to hear whatever Nick was going to say – he was bound by confidentiality too and would need to know what happened to treat Nick effectively – but Jarrod didn't want anybody else hearing what Nick had to say, not yet. His brother had just been found in a room with a dead man, holding his gun with one shot fired, and the dead man was the husband of the woman Nick was in love with, a woman still sitting in a chair out in the office and crying.

Dr. Merar finished bandaging Nick's head, then looked up at Jarrod with a sigh and a pat to Nick's hand meant to be reassuring.

"Is it all right for him to sleep?" Jarrod asked.

"I'd rather he didn't," Dr. Merar said. "I know it's late and he's likely to fall asleep, head injury or no, but if somebody can keep him awake for a few hours it would be good."

Sheriff Madden came back in. "I have somebody heading out to the ranch. The family should be here in an hour or so. Has he said anything yet?"

"Only that he can't remember what happened," Jarrod said.

Nick looked up suddenly. "Ellen – "

"Nick, was she in the room when you went in?" the sheriff asked.

Nick slumped again. Too quickly for Jarrod to stop him, he said, "I don't know – I don't know – "

"I'll get Mrs. Penn back over to the hotel and start asking questions," the sheriff said. "Doc, I'll need you to have a look at that room and at the dead man as soon as you can."

"When I'm finished with Nick," Dr. Merar said. "I want to stay with him for a while, to be sure he doesn't have a worse injury before we let him sleep, and I better have a look at the woman, too, before you take her."

Jarrod looked back at Nick, then at the sheriff again. "Fred, I can't see Nick barging in there with his gun drawn and shooting Lucian Wilco dead, not when he wouldn't have even known Wilco was in there. There's more to this than meets the eye."

"I know there is," the sheriff said, "but unless Nick can remember something, or unless we get something relevant out of Ellen, all we have is questions. I'm gonna have to keep Nick here, if you think it's all right, Doc."

"He's as well off here as anywhere," Dr. Merar said. "I prefer you don't haul him all the way home."

"I'll stay here, Fred," Jarrod said. "Obviously, Nick is my client. I'll want to talk to him privately as soon as he's able to say anything."

Nick was starting to slip off. Dr. Merar gave him a shake, and he startled awake again.

Sheriff Madden sighed, said, "I'll be back in a while," and left.

"Is he gonna be all right?" Jarrod asked the doctor.

Dr. Merar nodded. "I think so. But he might not make much sense for a while. Jarrod, I can't see Nick just walking into a hotel room and killing a man, either."

"He didn't do that," Jarrod said. "The problem is, it looks like he did. I just hope he remembers something and can start talking before too long."

Dr. Merar looked down at his drowsy patient.

"How about some coffee?" Jarrod asked.

Dr. Merar nodded. "I think we'll both need it tonight, but don't give any to Nick, and let me have a look at the woman before you give her any, too."


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

For Nick, the world was one big bowl of dense chicken soup. He could hear their voices and even knew they were Jarrod, and Dr. Merar, and Sheriff Madden, but for the longest time he couldn't swim up out of the soup. Then, about an hour after they had brought him into the jail cell, he began to feel himself surface. He actually reached for help.

"Easy, there," Dr. Merar said, taking his groping hand.

Nick looked at him with eyes that finally started to look like they were awake. "What happened?"

"We were hoping you could tell us," Jarrod said.

Nick's head began to hurt. "I was in your office – how did I get here?"

"You don't remember?" Sheriff Madden asked, just coming back in after seeing to things at the hotel and asking some questions – but getting no answers from Ellen Penn. She wasn't talking, just crying.

"No," Nick said.

"Well," Dr. Merar said, "you have a pretty good-sized bump on the head, and if you have a memory lapse, you might have been unconscious before we got to you, you might not have been. But you've been pretty well out of it for the last hour."

Nick frowned. "I thought I heard Ellen in here."

"I've taken her back to the hotel, to another room," the sheriff said.

"She's not hurt," Dr. Merar said, "but she's very upset. I gave her something and she'll sleep all night."

"Henry's over there keeping a watch on her room as well as the room where I've still got Wilco on the floor," Sheriff Madden said. "Ellen won't be going anywhere."

Dr. Merar put his things together, saying, "There's not much else I can do for him tonight. I think you'll be fine, Nick, and if you weren't actually unconscious, your memory of what happened may start returning anytime."

Nick just nodded, just a little.

"Doc, if you think he's all right, maybe Nick and I better have a private conversation," Jarrod said. "I'd like to have it before Heath gets here with our mother and sister, which should be any time now. Fred, maybe you can send them over to the Doctor's office if I'm still talking to Nick when they get here? He can fill them in on how Nick is."

"All right," Sheriff Madden said.

Dr. Merar got up and headed out. "I'll be back in the morning. Give it another hour or so, and I think you can let him sleep, if that headache will let him. I don't want to give him anything for pain until morning."

"I don't want anything," Nick grumbled.

"If you want coffee in the morning and you've slept all right, you can have some. Just don't overdo."

Jarrod thanked the doctor as he went out. Sheriff Madden said, "I'm gonna take the doctor over to that hotel room, let him have a last look at the scene and the dead man and get the body out of there."

Jarrod nodded to him. "I'll look after Nick."

The sheriff left them alone then, closing the cell block door.

Nick looked up at his older brother. "When did you get here?"

"I helped haul you over here from the hotel," Jarrod said.

"The hotel?"

"Tell me what you remember happened, no matter what it is, Nick."

"Jarrod, I honestly don't remember what happened."

"I don't doubt you," Jarrod said. "But let's go over this and see what you do remember. Do you remember going into the hotel room?"

Nick thought hard about it. "I went to the hotel? To see Ellen?"

"Take a deep breath, Nick. Try to let it come. Try to see the last things you saw tonight."

Nick took the breath. He tried to let his mind clear, and he did remember something. He remembered his hand on a door knob – at least he thought he remembered that.

Seeing his confusion, Jarrod backed up in time a bit. "Do you remember going into the hotel? Do you remember knocking on the door? Do you remember anyone telling you to come in?"

"Yeah, yeah," Nick said. "I did knock – but I don't remember if anyone told me to come in."

"You don't know if anyone did? You don't remember either a man's voice or a woman's?"

Nick shook his head. "No, I just remember knocking. I remember my hand on the knob. But it was Ellen's room. I remember going to Ellen's room but I don't remember why. But she would have been the one to invite me in, wouldn't she?"

"Which hand was on the knob?" Jarrod asked.

Nick looked at his hands. "Right hand."

"Are you sure? Nick, what I'm trying to get at is whether your right hand was free to open the door."

"Yeah," Nick said. "Yeah, it was, I turned the knob with my right hand."

"Do you remember the door opening?"

Nick shut his eyes tight. "No. I don't. I don't remember anything else before I was standing there and then the sheriff came in and then we were here."

Jarrod paused for a moment, trying not to rush his brother. "Nick," he said slowly, "do you remember taking your gun out of its holster?"

"No," Nick said, looking like he was trying to see back in time. "No, I was opening the door to the room, and then I was just standing there."

"Do you remember Ellen being in the room with you and Lucian?" Jarrod asked.

Nick shook his head. "All I remember is opening the door and then I was standing there and the sheriff was coming in, but she had to be there. Wasn't she there when the sheriff came in?"

"Yes, she was there," Jarrod said. Then, more gently, he said, "Fred found you holding your gun and it had been fired. Do you remember firing it?"

"No," Nick said. "I just remember opening the door, and then I was standing there in the room and there was me and this man I didn't know and I don't remember seeing Ellen."

"His name was Lucian Wilco, Nick. Do you remember talking to him? Do you remember hearing the name Lucian Wilco?"

Nick thought. "I saw the name – on a file on your desk." Nick's face lit up in suspicion. "We talked about him and Ellen, you and me."

Jarrod didn't want to get into that too deeply yet. "Stay with the hotel, Nick. I need to know what happened at the hotel."

Nick shook his head. "I don't remember seeing his face. I don't know who the man was. You're saying he was this Lucian Wilco fella?"

Jarrod nodded. "What about the gun? Were you holding the gun when you first saw Lucian in the room with you?"

Nick squeezed his eyes closed and tried to see it.

"Tell me the truth, Nick," Jarrod said. "This is all confidential but I have to know the truth of whatever you remember and what you don't remember."

"I'm trying, Jarrod!" Nick blurted, and he looked at his brother's eyes and tried to be certain about what he was saying. "I remember opening the door. I remember standing there and it was me and Lucian and the gun, and then the sheriff came in the door behind me."

"Was Lucian standing when you remember that, or was he down?"

"Standing at first – but when I saw the sheriff, Lucian was down."

"You don't remember if Ellen was in the room when you went in."

"No. I swear, Jarrod, that's all I remember – turning the knob, then me and Lucian and then me holding the gun and Lucian down and the sheriff there. But Ellen would have to have been there, wouldn't she?"

"Not necessarily, not when the shooting happened, if Lucian was sharing the room."

"Sharing the room?" Nick blurted as if he hadn't remembered what Jarrod had said to him about Ellen and Lucian being married before he went over to the hotel.

Jarrod tried to get him back on track. "Think hard, Nick, think very hard. Picture yourself turning that knob again. Was your gun in your hand when you turned that knob?"

Nick tried to picture it. "I turned the knob with my right hand. I'm sure of that. I wouldn't have had the gun in my hand, and I don't remember the gun being in my hand. Why would I have taken the gun out? I can't think of any reason why I would have taken the gun out."

Jarrod finally sighed, letting his own tension out.

Nick looked at him. "Why would I have taken my gun out if I was just going into Ellen's hotel room?"

"I don't think you would have," Jarrod said, "unless the voice telling you to come in was a voice you found threatening. If it was Lucian's voice and to you it sounded threatening."

Nick shook his head. "I just don't remember hearing a voice, not Ellen's, not Lucian's, not anybody's. Somebody had to have told me to come in, but I don't remember who. Didn't anybody else in the hotel hear anything?"

"Fred is still checking that out," Jarrod said. "Nick, like the doctor said, you may start to remember things as your head clears. If you remember anything more – ANYTHING – tell no one, not the sheriff, not Mother, not anyone but me. Just me. Do you understand?"

"Yeah, yeah, I understand," Nick said. "Where's Ellen now?"

"Back at the hotel in another room. Dr. Merar gave her something to sleep. Fred will talk to her more in the morning."

Nick growled with worry and frustration. "Can you get me out of here?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "You're being charged with murder, Nick."

"Murder?"

"This was a murder, Nick, and you were found holding the gun. You don't usually get bail on a murder charge, but I'll try in the morning. You just take it easy, rest. Don't try to remember anymore. Just let it come to you if it comes, and call me if anything does. I'll be here in the jail all night with you."

"All right," Nick said, unconvincingly. His head hurt, and he was tired, and he was scared.

They spent a long time just being together, Jarrod keeping Nick awake with a shake now and then, before they finally heard noise out in the office. Their mother's voice was part of it. "Sheriff!" Jarrod yelled.

The sheriff opened the cell block door, and Nick and Jarrod could both see the rest of the family there.

"It's all right, I'm through talking to Nick," Jarrod said, getting up, then he looked at Nick and said, "tell no one about what we've said to each other here." Then he looked at his family coming into the cell block. "And don't any of you ask him what happened. We need this to be completely confidential between me and Nick right now. You've got to trust me on this. It's vital."

Victoria's eyes took on a more worried look, looking at the resolve in Jarrod's eyes. Jarrod was telling her how horribly serious this was. She looked down at Nick, then sat on the bunk beside him, rubbing the back of his head. "Are you all right, Nick?" she asked.

"Yeah, I'm all right," Nick said. "Just some scrambled brains and a headache."

"Someone hit you?"

"Someone," Jarrod said, cutting off the line of questioning.

"Has the doctor seen him?" Victoria asked Jarrod.

"Yes," Jarrod said. "If you want to ask about Nick's condition, I think you ought to go talk to him. Nick's gonna be all right, but yes, he's got some scrambled brains and a headache."

Victoria, Heath and Audra all looked stricken, by what was happening, by Jarrod's refusal to let Nick talk to them about it. Victoria made a decision. "All right – we'll see what we can talk about after we talk to the doctor. Nick – you do what your lawyer tells you."

Jarrod gave his mother a smile and a reassuring kiss on the cheek, but it was tough for her to be reassured when Nick was still sitting there slumped, rubbing the back of his bloodied head, looking lost and in pain, and she had no real understanding as to what had happened. Victoria reached a hand to him.

Nick saw her reach for him. He managed an uncomfortable smile, took her hand and kissed it. "I'll be all right, Mother," he said.

Victoria gave him a smile, but she gave Jarrod a wary look. She wanted to know what was going on, and she wouldn't wait forever to find out.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

As the family left the cell block, Heath held back for a moment. "You holding up okay?" he asked Jarrod.

Jarrod nodded. "Just tired. See if you can get Mother and Audra to go home after they see the doctor. Nick's head isn't clearing up much and he's not gonna be making any sense tonight. The doc said it was all right to let him sleep in a little while. He needs to sleep. I'll stay here."

"Get some rest if you can. I don't know if I can get Mother and Audra to leave without seeing Nick again, but maybe the doctor can talk them into leaving him alone until tomorrow, now that they've seen his not dead."

"See if you can get him to do that and take them home. Come back in the morning. I think I'm gonna need your help. I'll see you whenever I see you."

Heath said, "All right," and went out the door after Victoria and Audra.

Jarrod heaved a sigh of _I don't know what to do next_. Sheriff Madden was there to give him a slap on the arm. "Why don't you go sit with Nick and keep him awake for a while longer? I'll leave the cell open."

"He's not going anywhere," Jarrod agreed. "Thanks, Fred."

Jarrod went back to Nick's cell and went right in. Nick had fallen over onto his side on the bunk. Jarrod sat down with him and gave him a firm shake. Nick jumped, startled.

"Stay awake," Jarrod said. "We don't want you to slip off into a coma and us not know about it."

Nick forced himself to sit up again. "Where did everybody go?"

"The family went to talk to the doctor. Fred's out in the office. I'm here."

Nick gave a big sigh. "Aw, Jarrod, I really botched it up this time."

"We don't know that, Nick," Jarrod said. "Until we put the pieces together, we don't know that you botched anything at all, and we're not gonna be able to put all the pieces together tonight."

"Jarrod," Nick said. "Who hit me?"

"I don't know," Jarrod said. "Maybe Ellen. Maybe Wilco. I don't know yet."

"It was Ellen, wasn't it?"

"We don't know that, Nick. Don't jump to conclusions – it'll just mess up your memory."

"I didn't see who hit me."

"Of course you didn't. You were hit from behind."

"But it couldn't have been this Lucian fella."

"Nick, quit trying to come to conclusions. Stick to facts. Just relax now. You've told me a lot. Tell me facts you actually remember when they come to you now."

Nick rubbed his head. "They're not coming to me."

"They will. Leave it all alone and they'll come to you."

"I want to sleep."

"I'll let you sleep in a while. Dr. Merar wants to make sure you're okay before you do."

"I killed Lucian."

"Are you remembering that, or are you making another conclusion?"

Nick sighed. "A conclusion. I don't remember it. I don't even remember firing the gun."

Jarrod put his arm around his younger brother, feeling again like they were kids and he was comforting his little brother over something or other that turned out not to be the tragedy little Nicky had feared it was. "We'll put it together, Nick. We don't have to do it tonight. Tonight you need to just take it easy, let things come without trying to force them now, and in a while I'll let you sleep and dream. When you wake up, you'll probably remember more."

"Are you gonna tell Fred what I've said?"

Jarrod said, "I think I can tell him what you remember and what you don't remember. It's up to you, what I tell him. You haven't said anything that'll get you into more trouble than you're already in, and I think we should tell him what you remember."

Nick took a deep breath. "Tell him whatever you think will help. I trust you to look out for me." Nick gave Jarrod's knee a weak slap and a rub. "You always were a good big brother."

Jarrod laughed. "I'll throw that back at you someday, you know."

"Yeah, I know."

XXXXXXX

"I'm sure he'll be all right," Dr. Merar had told the family, "but I can't guarantee he'll remember everything that happened up in that hotel room. We'll just have to wait and see what comes to him."

"Is there anything we can do to help him?" Victoria asked.

Heath gave the doctor a look that said that at the moment, he was a bit more concerned with his mother and sister than with his brother. "He's in the jail and Jarrod's trying to help him get some rest," Heath said.

Dr. Merar got the picture. "Well, then I'd say he has the help he needs and you best go home and let him rest until morning. Things should be clearer then. Nick's head should be clearer then. Leave him to Jarrod. You go home and get some rest yourselves."

Audra heaved an unhappy sigh. "I just don't like not being with him tonight."

"He'll be all right," Dr. Merar said. "Go home. Nick's going to need to rest tonight. Come back tomorrow morning. Have I ever steered you wrong?"

Victoria had to smile. "No, you haven't."

Heath said, "Thanks," very quietly.

Dr. Merar understood everything Heath was thanking him for, and nodded and smiled.

Heath took his family outside, where the buggy and his horse waited. He said, "Jarrod asked me to see you home and come back in the morning."

"We'll be coming back with you," Victoria said.

Heath thought that they still didn't know what had Jarrod on edge about Ellen to begin with, but it sure looked like he was right about her. Something was up. "We'll get more answers after the sun comes up," Heath said, nodding. "Let's get home."

Victoria nodded, but she too knew Jarrod had been on edge, and now she was more than on edge about Ellen. She was moving quickly into mother bear territory. Someone had hurt her son. Someone was trying to pin a murder on him. And Victoria suspected – no, she knew - that Ellen was behind it.

XXXXXX

More time passed, and Jarrod had no trouble waking Nick if he started to drift off. Dr. Merar had said that it would be all right to let him sleep after a few hours, and at about two in the morning, when Nick said, "I just gotta sleep," Jarrod said, "It's all right now. Go ahead."

Nick lay down on his side. "Are you gonna be here?"

"I'll be here," Jarrod assured him. "The sheriff will too."

"Where's Ellen?"

"In another room at the hotel. There's a deputy outside her door. The doctor gave her something to help her sleep."

Nick drifted off right away then. Jarrod got up from the cot and went back into the office, where Sheriff Madden was pouring coffee for both of them and bringing it to his desk. He sat down behind it as Jarrod sat down in front of it.

"Has he remembered much of anything?" the sheriff asked.

Jarrod put his hands around the coffee cup and considered very carefully what he ought to be saying. "No. He's too sleepy. Even if he didn't have that conk on the head, he wouldn't be thinking straight."

"What about you? What are you thinking?"

Jarrod took a deep breath. "Trying to put something together with what we do have. Wilco didn't hit Nick, that I'm almost sure of. Ellen had to have done it. The only real questions are, when and why?"

"Before or after Nick shot Wilco."

Jarrod leveled a gaze at the sheriff. "I'm not convinced yet that Nick did shoot Wilco." He thought again about what he ought to say, and decided. "He doesn't remember taking the gun out of his holster at all. He remembers opening the door with his right hand, no gun in it. Wilco wasn't armed, was he?"

"No," Sheriff Madden said. "There wasn't another gun in the room."

"And Nick's gun had been fired and the barrel was still warm when you took it from him. But picture this for a moment. Nick goes into the room. Ellen is there with Wilco. Some kind of words between them. Ellen hits Nick – then she takes his gun, shoots Wilco, and puts the gun in Nick's hand. Nick is either out cold and gets up before you get there, or he's just blither-headed from the blow and doesn't remember any of that happening."

The sheriff looked skeptical. "She shot her own husband? Why would she do that?"

"Because she wanted to. Remember, we're waiting for some information from Modesto that might have some bearing on this."

"You're reaching," the sheriff said.

"Maybe," Jarrod said. "But I don't see Nick entering that room, drawing his gun and shooting Wilco dead within a minute or two, just because he was married to Ellen. That's nowhere near the provocation Nick would need to kill a man, especially one who's not armed. But if Ellen had a provocation we don't fully understand yet – " Jarrod didn't finish the sentence. He knew he didn't need to.

The sheriff nodded. "I hate to arrest a woman for murder, but I agree with you. For Nick to just walk in and shoot the man – that doesn't make any sense, even if he is crazy in love with the woman."

"If it's true that Ellen shot her husband and framed Nick, I doubt we'll ever get it out of Ellen," Jarrod said, "but come morning, Nick may be able to tell us for sure if he was hit without drawing his gun."

"Come morning, I'll try to talk to Ellen, if she'll talk to me without a lawyer."

"Maybe we'll hear something helpful from Modesto," Jarrod said. He sipped at his coffee. "I hope Nick gets through this and lives to have a love affair that actually works out. He doesn't deserve what he's been getting."

"That, I can agree with," Sheriff Madden said.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Morning came, and except for drifting off and waking back up quickly more than once, Jarrod got no sleep at all. When the sun coming through the window finally poked him in the eye, he sat up straight , saw the sheriff already making fresh coffee and said, "Morning."

"Morning. The doc's gonna be coming in to look at Nick before too long," the sheriff said.

Jarrod got up slowly, stretching a little. He looked into the cell block and saw Nick still stretched out on the cot. "Have you tried to wake him?"

"No. He's been snoring. Why don't you go shake him and make sure he wakes up?"

Jarrod went to Nick's cell and gave him a shake. Nick snorted awake, saw who was standing with him, and slowly sat up. "Is it morning?"

"Yeah," Jarrod said. "Do you remember where you are?"

Nick looked around. "Yeah, I remember."

"How's the head?"

"Hurts," Nick said. "Can I visit the wc?"

"Go ahead," Fred Madden said, having heard him.

Jarrod helped his brother up, steadied him as he went to the facilities, then helped him back to the office. Nick was steady enough to sit in the chair in the office and take some coffee while Jarrod did his morning visit to the facilities. Then Jarrod was back, and they all took coffee together.

"Counselor, are you going to let him talk about what he might be remembering this morning?" the sheriff asked.

Jarrod said, "After he talks to me. Nick, I told Fred what you told me so far."

Nick nodded. With a little coffee in him, with a good night's sleep behind him, he was beginning to look more like he was thinking straight, and he said, "There's a couple things I'm sure of now, things I don't mind saying in front of Fred and you won't either." Nick looked at his older brother lawyer. "I didn't take my gun out of the holster before I was hit in the head. I remember. I knocked. Ellen's voice told me to come in. I turned the knob with my right hand and went in. My gun was in my holster, not in my hand. I saw a man in front of me, and then my head exploded from the back."

"That's when you were hit," the sheriff said.

Nick nodded.

"Did you see who hit you?" Jarrod asked.

Nick shook his head.

"Did you see Ellen at all?"

Nick shook his head again, "But I heard her invite me in. She was there."

Jarrod and the sheriff looked at each other. Jarrod looked back at Nick. "You'd testify to that?"

Nick nodded. "I'd testify to that."

"I'd have the evidence I need to say that Ellen hit Nick, before Wilco was shot," Jarrod said.

Sheriff Madden breathed a big sigh of relief. Jarrod checked his watch. The court wouldn't open for another two hours, but he was more anxious than ever to get Nick released. He wanted more time alone with him – and more alone – than this jail would allow.

Dr. Merar came in. He took one look at Nick and said, "Well, it looks like you're more with the rest of us today than you were last night."

"Morning, Doc," Sheriff Madden said.

"Good morning," the doctor said. "Nick, let's get you back in that cell and have a good look."

Nick swallowed the last of his coffee, then got up and went with Dr. Merar back to his cell.

Jarrod stayed with Sheriff Madden. "Fred, Nick is believable about not drawing his gun."

The sheriff nodded, but said, "I'll need to go talk to Ellen Penn as soon as I can. She's gonna say she didn't hit Nick until he drew his gun and fired, I'd bet on that. And I'd still be stuck with finding Nick with the gun in his hand."

"Get her clothes," Jarrod said. "Get the dress she was wearing last night. If she was the one who fired the gun, there should be residue on them. She might not think of that."

The sheriff nodded again, but again, "She'll probably want to see a warrant before she gives that dress up."

"And she'll probably want a lawyer before she'll talk to you," Jarrod said. "When we go to get that warrant, I'm gonna try to get Nick released into my custody, get him out of this jail. If you end up bringing Ellen in, I don't want the two of them in your cells together back there."

"I'll support you on that," Sheriff Madden said.

"And we still have to hear from Modesto."

"I'll wire again if I haven't heard from them by this afternoon."

At that moment, the door opened again, and Victoria, Audra and Heath came in. Victoria looked at Jarrod and immediately said, "You look terrible."

Jarrod laughed a little. "I didn't sleep much, but Nick slept all right. Dr. Merar's seeing him now."

"Fred, what are the chances I can take Nick home if the doctor says he's fit to travel?"

"Maybe not bad, later today," the sheriff said.

"I'll be asking the judge for that," Jarrod said, "but court doesn't open for a couple hours, and we still have work to do."

"How's Nick's memory this morning?" Heath asked.

"A little better," Jarrod said. "Try not to worry. We're gonna get to the bottom of this before too long."

"Maybe today?" Audra asked.

"Maybe today," Jarrod said.

Dr. Merar came back out then, but Nick stayed in his cell. "Hello, everyone. Sheriff, your prisoner is more straight in the head today and I think he's ready to eat something. At least, I heard his stomach growling once or twice. Something like a soft boiled egg would be best."

"I'd like to see him," Victoria said.

"Go on back," Dr. Merar said, and the sheriff nodded.

Victoria and Audra went back into the cell block, but Heath stayed with the men, asking the doctor, "Do you think we can take him home today?"

"If the sheriff lets you," Dr. Merar said, "and if he travels by buggy, not on horseback. I don't want to have him bouncing around too much, and I want him in bed for at least another 24 hours, no matter where he is. He can sit up to eat and he can move around to use the facilities, but he best not overdo."

Abruptly, a runner from the telegraph office came in, carrying an envelope. "Sheriff, this came in not five minutes ago," he said, handing the envelope over.

"Thanks," Sheriff Madden said, and as the runner left he tore open the envelope and read the contents. And smiled. "From the Modesto sheriff. 'Have Bob Chambers. Very cooperative. Send someone for him.'"

"Who's Bob Chambers?" Heath asked.

"A man Ellen went to see in Modesto on business," Jarrod said, "but it turns out she's been down there to see him on business quite a bit over the last few months, according to Pinkerton. Enough to make me suspicious, and given the information Pinkerton had about it, maybe it made her husband suspicious too and he hired them. Do you have anyone you can send down there, Fred?"

Sheriff Madden looked a little unhappy for a moment, but Heath quickly said, "Deputize me, Sheriff. I'll go get the morning train and have him back here by tonight."

Sheriff Madden pulled a badge out of his desk drawer and handed it over. "Do you swear to do all the things I've always asked you to do when I've deputized you before?"

Heath grinned. "I do."

"Go get on that train."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

"Mother, I know I didn't shoot this Lucian Wilco fella," Nick said flatly before even being asked. "I know it for a fact."

"Jarrod doesn't want us to talk about it," Victoria said.

"I can say that much," Nick said. "I remember that much."

"How's your head this morning?" Audra asked.

"Not as bad as it was."

"I think you got more sleep than Jarrod did."

"I think I probably did, too. Maybe he's the one you ought to take home."

"I'd like to take you both home," Victoria said. "Nick, I'm sorry things with Ellen aren't working out."

Nick squeezed his mother's hand. "Mother – this Lucian Wilco man – he was Ellen's husband."

Audra went wide-eyed, but Victoria only looked mildly surprised. "How do you know that?" she asked.

"Jarrod told me. He had Pinkerton check into her," Nick said. "He'll tell you about it. She lied to me from the minute I first saw her. What I don't understand is why."

"It doesn't make any sense," Audra agreed. "Surely she knew you'd find out."

"She must have had something in mind we don't know about," Victoria said.

"She's at the hotel," Nick said. "I don't know how much Fred has questioned her, if he's questioned her at all."

"We'll find out," Victoria said.

Nick started to look weary again.

"You rest some more, darling," Victoria said. "We'll be right outside."

Nick nodded and lay down on the cot again, as Victoria and Audra went back into the office. They noticed right away that Heath wasn't there.

"Where's Heath?" Audra asked.

"He's gone to catch the train to Modesto," Jarrod said. "There's someone down there the sheriff is holding who might be able to shed a little light on our problem here."

"What kind of light?" Victoria asked.

"Some more information about Mrs. Penn," Jarrod said. "He should be back tonight."

"What information?" Victoria asked.

"I'd rather not discuss that yet, Mother, not until Heath gets back," Jarrod said.

"Fred, I want to take Nick home as soon as I can," Victoria said. "He'll do much better there than here."

"The court's gonna have to let me get him out, Mother," Jarrod said, "and it doesn't open for a while yet. But Fred, Sam Davidson might be in his office. He'll get word on this as soon as he gets in. I'd like to go see if I can find him."

"It's all right with me," the sheriff said.

"As long as we're in town, Mother, why don't we go see if we can be of any help at the orphanage today?" Audra suggested. "Jarrod can come get us there if Nick gets released or anything else happens."

"It might occupy your mind," Jarrod said.

Victoria gave a glance over her shoulder at her middle son, in the cell. "Nick will probably sleep for a while. All right, Audra. Let's go make ourselves useful – but I want to know the minute anything important happens, especially if Nick is released."

Jarrod nodded. "Somebody will come get you. And Mother – let me handle all this. I'll look out for Nick."

Victoria knew her oldest was seeing her mothering instinct coming out. She smiled a little and kissed his cheek.

Victoria and Audra left, and Henry, the deputy came in only a minute later. "Sheriff, Cal just got over to the hotel to relieve me," he said. "I was wondering what you might need over here."

"Is Mrs. Penn up and around yet?" the sheriff asked.

"Not yet, not that I heard," Henry said. "I told Cal she wasn't under arrest, she could go where she wanted, but to tell her we didn't want to leave her alone."

"I don't know how much she's going to go along with that, Fred," Jarrod said.

"I know, but we don't have any reason right now to do anything other than question her," the sheriff said. "I don't have grounds to arrest her. We can't even be sure she's the one who slugged Nick."

"Has she asked for a lawyer yet?"

"No, she really wasn't in any shape to," the sheriff said.

"Why don't you go see if you can get her talking, while I go see Davidson? Then we can see Judge Farnham at nine."

The sheriff nodded. "Henry, you stay here until we get back, all right? Nick's sleeping. I don't expect he'll be a lot of trouble, but don't ask him any questions about anything. His lawyer here won't like it."

Henry smiled. "I'll keep to myself, Sheriff," he said.

"Somewhere in there we better get some breakfast, and send some over here for Nick," Jarrod said. "Why don't we meet at the hotel café, about eight-thirty, and fill each other in before we go see the judge?"

"Sounds good to me," the sheriff said.

XXXXXX

Victoria and Audra went to the orphanage as planned, and at eight-thirty Jarrod met the sheriff in the hotel café – with one slight change in plans. Sam Davidson, the district attorney, was with him.

The sheriff bid Davidson good morning, but said, "We might be missing the right attorney here. Ellen Penn won't talk to me without one."

"I can't say I blame her for that," Davidson said. "Does she have an attorney in Stockton?"

"Me," Jarrod said as the waitress poured coffee.

"She asked if we could get her Marvin Sanders," the sheriff said.

Both Jarrod and Davidson groaned. Marvin Sanders was a good attorney, but known to represent the shadier men in town, and it was suspected he had a tendency to purposely avoid hearing things that might challenge his ethics or hurt his clients.

Davidson said, "I'll go over to Judge Farnham's with the two of you to get search warrants for the physical evidence Ellen has in her possession. I already told Jarrod I'd support releasing Nick into his custody, and I think Judge Farnham will grant that, too. Then I'll see if I can dig up Sanders and get him over to Mrs. Penn's hotel room – assuming you're not going to ask her over to your office before Nick is gone, Fred."

"I don't want Nick and Ellen in my office at the same time," Sheriff Madden said. "I'll talk to her when I serve the warrants and search her room. Maybe you can have Sanders there by then, too."

"All right, we have a plan," Davidson said. "Now, let's have breakfast. You two look like you need it more than I do."

XXXXXXX

Judge Farnham listened to the three men in front of him and carefully thought about what they were saying. Like Davidson, he hadn't been awakened by the ruckus last night but heard all about it once he got into the office this morning. Each man explained what he was asking for and why. Each man supported the others as much as he could.

"All right," Judge Farnham said. "I'll grant your warrants, Sheriff, and I'll allow Nick Barkley to be released into the custody of his brother, Jarrod Barkley. But sheriff, if you decide you want to arrest Mrs. Penn, you'll need to see me again for a warrant. Right now, I don't see you have cause to arrest her."

"I'm not asking for that yet, Judge," Sheriff Madden said. "I want to get to the physical evidence and question her. The sooner I can do that, the better. Then I'll come to you for a warrant, if I have the evidence."

The Judge filled out the proper papers and handed them over, and with quick thanks the men were out the door.

Davidson said, "I'll go find Sanders."

"And I'll get Nick out of jail and take him home," Jarrod said. "Fred, I'll be back this afternoon, without Nick."

"We're both gonna want to know what he knows, Jarrod," Davidson said. "Sooner or later, we have to hear it."

Jarrod nodded. "I know, but so far it just isn't much and Fred knows what it is. I'm hoping once I get Nick home and comfortable, more things will come back to him."

"All right, let's get going," Sheriff Madden said. "I want to get to the physical evidence before Mrs. Penn decides to corrupt it, and I want to get her talking as soon as I can, so round up Sanders as fast as you can, Sam."

They each nodded to each other, and then they went off in three separate directions – Davidson to Sanders's office, the sheriff to the hotel, and Jarrod to the jail.


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Nick had never been happier to get home in his life. He rode in the buggy with Victoria while Audra rode Heath's horse home and Jarrod rode his own. The buggy was less taxing than riding horseback, but Nick was still weak-kneed when he got out and the stable hand took charge of the vehicle. Jarrod helped support him as Victoria got the front door opened and Audra offered to help put up the horses.

"Dr. Merar said bed for you for the next 24 hours," Victoria said as Nick headed for the living room.

But Nick went into the living room and sat down in one of the armchairs by the fireplace, flopping his hat on the coffee table and saying, "Let me just sit still for a few minutes before I take on those stairs."

"How's the head?" Jarrod asked.

"Hurts," Nick said. "But I think it's clearer than it was even this morning."

"I'd better get some lunch together," Victoria said. "Nick, I'll bring you up some broth when it's ready."

"Broth – " Nick said as if he were saying "castor oil."

"The doctor said you could have solid food for dinner," Victoria said, "if you can keep the broth down."

Victoria went off to the kitchen, and Jarrod sat down in his "thinking chair," beside the chair Nick currently sat in. "We should have a lot better idea what's been going on by this evening, Nick. Heath will be back with the man from Modesto."

"Modesto? What's Heath gone to Modesto for?"

Jarrod realized he hadn't mentioned Bob Chambers to Nick yet. He wasn't comfortable explaining it yet and didn't really know how to put it. "He's gone to get a man Ellen had business with down there. We're not sure, but he might have information about all this."

Jarrod left it at that, but Nick asked, "What information?"

Jarrod said, "I'm not sure yet, Nick. We have to hear him out. That's why Heath went to get him." Jarrod decided to move away from that subject. "The sheriff will have Ellen's dress and whatever physical evidence he can find, and hopefully he will have gotten some answers out of her."

"I think I know what the answers really are, Jarrod," Nick said.

Jarrod said, in a low voice. "Go ahead. We're alone."

Nick looked at his brother. "I remember talking to you about the Pinkerton files. I remember you told me Ellen was married to this Lucian guy. I remember going over to the hotel hopping mad, but I wasn't out of control. I went to Ellen's room. I knocked. Her voice told me to come in. I know I opened the door with my right hand and my gun was in my holster. I went in. The only person I saw was this Lucian guy, standing maybe eight feet in front of me. I closed the door behind me. I didn't even get to say anything before I was hit, hard, from behind."

"You never saw who hit you?" Jarrod asked.

Nick shook his head. "But it had to be Ellen. I heard her voice tell me to come in. She was there, and she had to be behind the door when I came in because I didn't see her. After I was hit, I don't think I was knocked out cold. I don't think I fell. I remember my legs going rubber but I was still on my feet and my gun was still in my holster."

"You're sure about that?"

"I'm positive, because I remember Ellen took it out."

Jarrod was excited for the first time in this mess. "Ellen took it out? Did you see her take it out?"

"I saw a woman's hand take it out, and I smelled the fragrance Ellen wears, right beside me."

"Did you see her fire the gun?"

"No, but I heard the shot, and I felt a woman's hand put my gun in my hand. I was almost on my knees by this time, but when I felt the gun go into my hand, I started to panic and I got upright, and that's when I saw this Lucian fellow on the floor and heard somebody pounding on the door."

"Somebody? Who?"

"I don't know. Somebody calling 'Mrs. Penn! Mrs. Penn!' Then the sheriff was coming in and I heard Ellen screaming. Then you were there and I was sitting down, and that's it, Jarrod. That's what happened. That's what I remember."

Jarrod breathed a big sigh of relief and patted Nick on the knee. "That's plenty, Nick. That's plenty. With your permission, I'll tell it all to the sheriff and the district attorney when I go back into town after lunch. You need them to hear it."

"Then it's gonna be my word against hers, isn't it? And the gun was in my hand."

"Yes, but there should be evidence on her dress that Ellen fired the gun, and this fella coming up from Modesto should be able to help us out."

"Who is this guy?"

Jarrod decided to explain more now that Nick seemed more level-headed. "His name is Bob Chambers. His name was on the documents I worked on for Ellen, but according to Pinkerton, she's spent a lot more time in Modesto with him than just a few business meetings would make likely."

"The whole thing does smell, doesn't it?"

"To high heaven," Jarrod said, looking interested, and excited. "If Chambers talks, if he tells the truth, I expect we're going to find out she's been involved with him, too."

Nick sighed. "Romantically, you mean."

"Yeah," Jarrod said. It was hard to say. "I'm sorry, Nick. I don't know what purpose Ellen was using you for, but I expect we'll start finding out tonight. I'm sorry, but it does seem pretty clear she was using you. She was never really in love with you."

"Was she trying to set me up for her husband's killing?"

"I don't know. Whatever she had in mind, I think I upset her plans when I contacted Pinkerton and told you what they had, and you went to her room."

"Jarrod, I never had the chance to tell her why I was there. She doesn't know I know about her husband or that you contacted Pinkerton."

"But you weren't supposed to be there. You had just taken her back and for all she knew, you were headed home. But you coming to the door told her something was wrong, and her husband was there."

"She invited me in. I know she did."

"If she had been setting you up to kill her husband – well, you coming in like you did, when you did, fell right into her lap."

"She whacked me in the head, took my gun, killed her husband and put my gun in my hand, to make it look like I killed him."

"Something like that."

"Now she's gonna tell everyone I did it and she hit me to keep me from killing her."

"But you never went unconscious. You can dispute it, and I suspect this Bob Chambers is gonna help us, not hurt us." Jarrod gave Nick another pat on the knee. "Don't worry, Nick. Get some more rest today and let me put things together this afternoon and this evening. When you wake up tomorrow morning, you might just be waking up to all your troubles gone."

Jarrod gave Nick a reassuring smile, and it was Nick's turn to pat him on the knee. "Man, am i glad they sent you to law school."

XXXXXXX

As Victoria was carrying broth up to Nick, who had gone to bed as ordered, Heath was coming into the sheriff's office in Modesto. He showed his badge. "I'm Heath Barkley. Fred Madden in Stockton sent me to take Bob Chambers back there."

"Right," the sheriff said. "He's in his office, just down the street. Come on."

Heath turned a little anxious – the man needed an escort to Stockton but he was in his own office, not in jail? Heath followed along, half afraid they were going to find out that Bob Chambers had run off, but he was there. A tall man, taller than Nick but about his age, with dark hair and brown eyes. Dressed in a business suit, he invited the sheriff into the office. Heath spotted a small suitcase on one of the chairs by the door.

"This is Heath Barkley, a deputy from Stockton," the sheriff said. "Why don't you tell him what you told me? He probably ought to hear it before you leave for Stockton."

"He's just a deputy," Chambers said.

"My brother stands accused of killing this man named Lucian Wilco," Heath said. "I got a special interest."

Chambers said, "Are you related to that lawyer, Jarrod Barkley?"

"Another brother of mine," Heath said.

Chambers looked uncomfortable, but he nodded. "He's been representing Ellen Penn."

"Not anymore," Heath said. "She's part of this killing – the sheriff is still figuring it all out."

"Go ahead, tell him what you told me," the sheriff said. "You want as many people to hear this as possible if you're gonna keep yourself out of trouble."

Now Heath was really listening.

Chambers took a deep breath. "It's simple. I've been seeing Ellen quite a bit over the last few months. We've wanted to be together but her husband is – was a Roman Catholic and would never give her a divorce. The last time she was here, Ellen let drop an idea that she might – want – to – kill – him."

Chambers slowing down at the end of that sentence perked Heath up. "How did she plan to do that?"

"She didn't explain herself," Chambers said. "I didn't take her seriously but I should have. She said I might hear about another lover she had in Stockton but I shouldn't believe it. She said it was a ploy. And that was all she said. But I had nothing to do with this plot of hers, whatever it was. I know, Sheriff, I should have spoken up, but I just didn't think she could really mean what she was saying. I mean, she wasn't that kind of woman."

Heath sighed. "It's starting to sound like she was."

"I'm ready to go to Stockton to explain all this," Chambers said. "I don't want anybody thinking I was part of it. All I was was – I don't know, I thought she was in love with me, but now I don't know. Your brother, the one who's charged with the murder – he was her lover in Stockton, wasn't he?"

Heath nodded.

"I want to get myself out from under this," Chambers said. "I don't need this tangling up my businesses. I'm packed and ready to go to Stockton."

"I already bought two tickets on the northbound," Heath said. "It leaves in about an hour."

Heath was so happy to hear what Chambers said, he wondered if he ought to wire Jarrod in Stockton about it, but he decided he didn't want that going out over a public telegraph. They'd catch the train and be in Stockton before long.

"I gotta thank you for coming forward, Mr. Chambers," Heath said.

"Don't thank me," Chambers said. "I've got my own interest in mind, but if it helps you out, that's fine with me."

Heath and Chambers caught the northbound train as Jarrod was heading into Stockton to see Sheriff Madden. Heath settled into his seat, feeling very, very good.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Jarrod hurried back to town as soon as he had gotten some lunch into him. The first thing he did was find the sheriff and explain everything Nick had told him. Fred Madden listened patiently, nodding a lot, and then he told Jarrod what he had found out while Jarrod took Nick home.

"You're not gonna be surprised," he said. "I questioned Ellen Penn. Her story is that Nick came barging in, had hot words with Lucian Wilco, then drew his gun and shot him before she could hit Nick over the head with the pitcher of water."

"Was Sanders there when she told you all this?" Jarrod asked.

"He was there. He talked to her in another room while we searched hers, before I questioned her, but he didn't say a word when she gave me her side of the story. Not one word."

"What physical evidence did you find?"

"The dress she was wearing. In the room where Wilco was killed, we found what was left of the pitcher. We found where the bullet that killed Wilco was embedded in the dresser drawer and took it out. I also talked to Victor, the desk clerk, when he got back on duty. You're gonna like this. He saw and heard Nick knock on Ellen's door. Nick didn't barge in."

"Do Sanders and Ellen know what Victor said yet?"

"No. I didn't talk to him until I left them."

"What about the dress? Does it show anything?"

Sheriff Madden nodded. "Gunfire smell and water stains. It looks like she tried to wash the smell off but it wouldn't all come off. It was mostly on those long sleeves, like she was holding the gun in both hands when she fired it. If she could have, she'd have probably gotten rid of the dress, but with a deputy hanging around, she couldn't do it."

Jarrod couldn't help but breathe a million percent easier. "Does Sanders know any of this?"

"He knows we took the dress. He probably never looked at it himself. I'll lay odds he knows what we were looking for, but he doesn't know what we found."

"Are you going to arrest Ellen?"

"Now that I've got Nick's story, yes. I've got Cal keeping an eye out on her so she doesn't try to leave town. I'm going over to see Sam Davidson and Judge Farnham now. You want to come?"

"No," Jarrod said. "I want to keep my distance and keep Nick away from this too, but I'd appreciate it if you try to get the charges against Nick dropped as soon as you can."

"I was planning to talk to Davidson about it, but he might want to wait to hear what this guy Chambers from Modesto has to say before he agrees to anything. He might need that to seal the deal."

Jarrod nodded. "Heath is probably on his way back with the man now. I can't wait to hear what he says."

"I hope it gets Nick completely off the hook," Sheriff Madden said.

Jarrod smiled. "I'm optimistic. Not something I often get to say when I'm defending someone on a murder charge."

"I'm optimistic, too," the sheriff said.

Jarrod turned to leave. "I have other work to get to, so I'll be in my office. Let me know when Heath gets here, if I miss him. If he and I can go home tonight and tell Nick this is all wrapped up in a nice package, it'll make my whole family very happy."

The sheriff raised his hand. His fingers were crossed.

XXXXXXX

Ellen Penn still held onto the belief that she could see this lie through. She didn't know about Bob Chambers coming to Stockton, or the desk clerk ready to testify she was lying about Nick breaking in. She didn't like that they had taken her dress, but she didn't think there would be anything there she couldn't explain away. She still thought she had the upper hand – until she opened the door of her room and found the deputy still out there, sitting on a chair in the hall. Deputy Cal smiled at her. She gave him a fake smile and asked, "Can a lady go for a walk?"

"If you take me with you," Cal said. "It's for your own protection, ma'am."

"My protection?"

"You might get swamped on the street by newspaper reporters and such," Cal said. "The sheriff wants to make sure you're protected from them."

Not really a lie. There was a local reporter who was hanging out just outside the hotel, waiting for Ellen to come out. The sheriff was concerned that once news reached San Francisco that Lucian Wilco was shot dead in Stockton, more reporters would turn up, and that could happen at any moment. Cal didn't get into details about that.

"I need to get something to eat," she said.

"I can get someone in the restaurant to bring you what you want, if you don't want me escorting you around." Cal smiled.

Ellen realized she was not going to be out of the "protection" of the law. "Maybe bring me a hot roast beef sandwich and some potatoes," she said.

Cal got up, went to the stairs and called Ellen's order down to the desk clerk. Then he returned to his chair.

Realizing she was never going to be out of the deputy's care, Ellen gave a quiet "thank you," went back into her room and started to grow very nervous. She checked her window, hoping it might prove an escape route if she needed it, but it opened right onto the busy street, and it was a good twenty feet down to that street. There was no way for her to use it to get out.

She still held onto her hope, until her food came and the waitress set her meal up on the table by the window. "You can watch the people down there while you eat," the waitress said. "I'll come back for the tray in an hour or so."

By now it was almost three o'clock in the afternoon. Ellen sat down to eat, and looked out the window as she did. There were plenty of people out there, strangers going about their daily routine. Ellen could see the young man in the suit hanging out in front of the barber shop. It didn't look like he was going to be leaving anytime soon. Ellen thought that he must have been the newspaper reporter.

Ellen took her time eating, drinking her coffee, watching the street – and then she saw them, and the protective veil of her lies evaporated. She saw Heath Barkley, and with him was Bob Chambers. They were walking from the railroad station, and in a moment they were going into the sheriff's office.

Ellen thought she was going to be sick.

XXXXXXX

Sheriff Madden shook Bob Chambers's hand and thanked him for coming. The sheriff explained to Heath that Nick had been released and gone home, but Jarrod was in town, in his office. "I think we better leave Jarrod out of this conversation for now, Heath, but would you go fetch Sam Davidson for me? He should hear this, if he has the time right now."

"Sure," Heath said, and in ten minutes or so he was bringing the district attorney into the office.

The sheriff discharged Heath as a deputy, and to Heath that meant he needed to leave while the sheriff and Davidson questioned Chambers. Heath went straight to Jarrod's office, and said hello to his secretary who let him into Jarrod's inner office. Jarrod was behind his desk, huddled over some paperwork, but he looked up and straightened up as Heath came in and took a seat on the corner of his desk.

"You got Chambers," Jarrod said.

Heath nodded with a smile. "And you're gonna love what he's telling the sheriff and the district attorney right now."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Heath headed home before long, with Jarrod's thanks, but Jarrod remained in his office to continue working. He kept turning and looking out his window, though, so curious as to what was going on in the sheriff's office that he could hardly stand it, but he knew, as Nick's defense attorney, he had no part in this phase of the investigation. He could only watch and hope he could see something that would let him draw some happy conclusions.

He did see some things. He saw Sam Davidson leaving the jail and heading back to the courthouse. He saw Sheriff Madden escorting a man Jarrod didn't know, but figured was Bob Chambers, off to another street, probably to the hotel in town that Ellen was not staying in, a relatively new place on Hunter Street. Not seeing anything else for a while, Jarrod went back to work, but he turned in his chair with the papers he was reviewing, so he could glance up and out the window regularly. On one of those glances, he saw Fred Madden coming from the direction of the courthouse and to the hotel where Ellen was staying.

Jarrod stood up, moving closer to the window, watching. It wasn't long before he saw the sheriff and his deputy, Henry, escorting Ellen out of the hotel and off to the jail as the reporter who had been waiting on the street followed, asking questions. Jarrod grinned from ear to ear. The sheriff had gotten the arrest warrant.

But then Jarrod's grin faded, as he watched Ellen being taken into the sheriff's office, as he thought about Nick. Nick was going to be relieved, of that he was sure, but Nick was going to be hurt, too. Now it was clear. Now it was official. Ellen had only used him, and even if she had been caught trying to frame him for killing her husband, that might not be enough to burn all of Nick's feelings for her out of him.

Jarrod knew his brother almost as well as he knew himself. He had watched over Nick when they were growing up, until he himself had gone away to school, then to the war, then back again to law school. That time apart might have given them some needed distance to firmly root themselves as adults, but it did not break the bond they had formed when they were children, and becoming young men. The last few years, since Jarrod had come home and established himself as a lawyer, and as the family's lawyer, he and Nick had formed a new bond, as men. That bond became even stronger when their father was killed. Despite all the time Jarrod spent at his practice in San Francisco these days, he and Nick were still close, still devoted brothers, still having each other's backs.

Jarrod knew when he got home, he'd be able to tell Nick Ellen had been arrested and he, Nick, was in the clear. But he also knew Nick would be taking that in with very mixed feelings.

Jarrod gave it some time before he headed out, because he planned to go the sheriff's office and confirm what had happened before he went home. Once he went into the office, he confirmed it very quickly. The door to the cell block was closed, but Sheriff Madden was smiling.

"We got her," he said. "I had Sanders over here as soon as I arrested her, and even he knew she had to start telling some truths once I laid out to him everything we had."

"She's confessed what happened?"

The sheriff nodded. "She and her husband had been arguing before Nick came in. The marriage was falling apart and she was planning an out through Nick. She wanted this guy from Modesto anyway, so when Nick showed up last night and there was only the three of them in the room, she took advantage of the situation on impulse. Sanders has gone to talk to Davidson now. He wants a prison sentence, not a hanging. Davidson told me he'd go for something like that and recommend it to the judge, if she confessed and saved the county a trial. Nick is completely off the hook."

Jarrod extended a hand to his friend. "Thank you, Fred."

"You could look happier," the sheriff said.

Jarrod realized he was frowning, not smiling. He tried a slight smile, but said, "Nick really loved her, you know?"

"I know," the sheriff said, "but she doesn't deserve a man as fine as he is. She deserves that prison cell she's going to get."

Jarrod nodded. "I'll head over to Harry's and get a little something to eat. When you get final word that the deal is set, would you let me know?"

"It shouldn't be long."

Jarrod nodded. "I hope you're right, and I hope this is the end of it all."

XXXXXXX

Jarrod was late getting home, not an unusual event but the family, minus Nick, had already sat down to dinner. After Heath had come home and told them the latest of what he knew, they were particularly anxious to hear what was going on in town. When Jarrod came into the dining room, they were having desert, but each one was just picking at it. They were doing more talking than eating.

"I wish Jarrod would just get here and tell us what's happening," was what Jarrod was hearing Audra say as he came in.

Victoria said, "If he doesn't, we're going into town and having a long talk with everyone involved."

"I'm here," he said, and he kissed his mother and his sister. "Nick's still in bed?"

"The doctor's orders," Victoria said. "We'll let him up tomorrow. What's happening, Jarrod?"

Jarrod did not sit down. "I need to go talk to Nick, but yes, it's over. The sheriff gathered enough evidence to make Ellen confess. She shot her husband with Nick's gun and tried to frame him for it."

"So Nick is cleared," Heath said.

"Nick is cleared," Jarrod said.

"Thank heaven," Victoria said, as if she were finally breathing again after a long time.

"Ellen and her attorney have already cut a deal," Jarrod went on. "She'll plead guilty tomorrow and be sentenced to thirty years in San Quentin on the murder charge, with three years for attacking Nick, running concurrently."

"You're frowning," Audra said.

Jarrod didn't realize he was doing it again. He said, "I'm just sorry it turned out this way. Nick is still gonna hurt, you know. Hester Converse and now this."

"Nick is still a young man in many ways," Victoria said.

"A young man who's been so busy running a big ranch since he was 22 that he hasn't had time to learn all his lessons in love yet," Jarrod said. Then he looked at Heath, and both of them grinned a little more. "To the extent we men ever learn all our lessons about women."

"We keep trying to teach you," Audra said, with a gleam in her eye.

"Is Nick awake?" Jarrod asked.

"He's having his dinner," Victoria said.

Jarrod left them and headed upstairs to Nick's room. He knocked. Nick invited him in, and Jarrod entered to see him sitting in a chair at his desk, the tray in front of him. Jarrod looked over his shoulder. "I see you got your solid food." Chicken and dumplings.

"I'm doing a lot better," Nick said. "I should be up and around in the morning. What's the word from town?"

Jarrod said, "You're in the clear. The sheriff got enough information that Ellen confessed. She shot her husband and tried to frame you."

Nick took that in solemnly, looking down. "Is she gonna hang?"

"No," Jarrod said. "Since she's sparing the state a trial, the judge has authorized a plea deal. She'll plead guilty in open court tomorrow morning and be sentenced to thirty years in San Quentin."

Nick moaned, despite himself, and put his fork down on his plate.

Jarrod rubbed his brother's shoulder. "I'm sorry about all this, Nick. I really am. I never wanted it to turn out this way, and I sure didn't expect it to when I contacted Pinkerton about her."

"I know that," Nick said, "but God alone knows what would have happened if you hadn't recognized her and that husband of hers. She had me sized up for the frame all along, didn't she?"

"Yes, I'm afraid so," Jarrod said. "It was this Bob Chambers fella in Modesto she really wanted to be with, but thank heaven, he balked at the notion of murder. He wanted out of the mess he'd gotten himself into with her, and he talked like crazy."

"Do you think there ever was a dead husband in Chicago, or was that a lie too?"

Jarrod shrugged. "I don't know, Nick."

Nick sighed and rested his head in his hand.

"Head hurt?" Jarrod asked.

"Everything hurts," Nick said.

Jarrod gave Nick's shoulder another rub.

"Thanks, Jarrod," Nick said quietly. For the shoulder rub. For the consolation. For the legal help in getting out of this mess. Nick didn't have to say any of those things.

They were brothers. It was all understood.

XXXXXXX

Epilogue

Nick was in no shape to go to court to see Ellen sentenced, and in fact he never did see her again at all. But Jarrod went the next morning, watched as the judge sentenced her and they took her away, and felt bad again for his brother. He was glad Nick was not here, and glad this whole thing was over. If Nick had proven anything over the last year, it was that he could move on. It might take a bit, but he would recover from this, just as he had recovered from Hester Converse.

"Jarrod!"

Jarrod heard Marvin Sanders call him, just as he was about to leave the courtroom. He waited for Sanders to come to him, and he saw Sanders handing him an envelope. "Ellen asked me to see Nick gets this. I don't know what it says."

Jarrod took it, uneasy. He wished Ellen had just gone away and let this all end, but now, in his hand, she was having the last word with Nick. Jarrod nodded. His desire to protect Nick, instilled all these years, would not extend to keeping this note from him.

So, Jarrod took it home. Nick was downstairs now but still moving around carefully. Riding horses and working the ranch were still a good week off. For now, Nick was just nursing coffee in the library and taking a few shots at the pool table. Jarrod was glad he found him alone.

"So, she's off to prison?" Nick asked, looking only half interested even if he was deeply interested.

Jarrod held the envelope out to him, saying, "She's off to prison, but she left this with her attorney for you."

Nick eyed it, then eyed Jarrod who looked steadily at him, then put the cue stick down and took the envelope. He tore it open. He read it.

_Nick – maybe in another life…_

And that was all it said. Nick wasn't sure what it was supposed to mean. Was it an apology? If it was, why didn't she just say she was sorry? Nick thought maybe "sorry" was a word she was just incapable of, or maybe she wasn't sorry at all for what she'd done but regretted something about getting him involved. Nick really didn't know what the point of this note was.

To Jarrod's surprise, Nick handed him the note, saying, "What do you make of this?"

Jarrod read it, and shook his head. "I don't know, Nick. I think the best thing for you to do is feel sorry for her, if she can't say she's sorry to you."

"Do you think she is sorry for what she did?"

Jarrod thought about it. "No. I think she might be sorry you're the one she dragged into it. I think she liked you, even if she didn't love you. But sorry for the plot? No, she's just sorry it didn't work, and she wanted to say something without knowing what."

Nick could accept that as a likely explanation. He nodded. He crumpled the note and the envelope in his hand and took it to the trash can beside the desk. Then he went back to shooting pool.

The End


End file.
